Judaism

"The Hebrew religion encompasses the philosophic transition from polytheism to monotheism; it is an evolutionary link between the religions of evolution and the religions of revelation. The Hebrews were the only western people to follow their early evolutionary gods straight through to the God of revelation."

Gnosticism

Gnosticism (after gnôsis, the Greek word for "knowledge" or "insight") is the name given to a loosely organized religious and philosophical movement that flourished in the first and second centuries CE. The exact origin(s) of this school of thought cannot be traced, although it is possible to locate influences or sources as far back as the second and first centuries BCE, such as the early treatises of the Corpus Hermeticum, the Jewish Apocalyptic writings, and especially Platonic philosophy and the Hebrew Scriptures themselves.

A one-time only event of local universe significance occured on this planet August 21, 7 B.C. A Paradise Creator Son was born a mortal flesh and blood man among men. He grew, became increasingly aware of who he was and his mission to be played out on this world, but for the whole local universe of his making. With authority and grace he showed God to man, and man to God, unapologetically correcting the misguided and manipulative concepts preached in the Temple.

The Temple masters were not pleased with this interloper pointing out the corruptions of their teachings and its lucrative control over the people, but when he turned over the tables of their moneychangers they went balistic and nailed him to a cross on April 7, 30 A.D.

It's worth mentioning, as part of his mission Christ gave Notice to all within his domain:
"He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" John 14:9
"I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6
"Surely I come quickly." Revelation 22:20

Theology

Theology is the study of religions. Reality Roars specifically treats Judaism and Christianity and their respective apocrypha and pseudipigrapha, the gnostic writings, the Sumerian contributions and some of the "other" writings you may find of interest.

All history, all law and all civilizations began with religion. Take some time each day to read the writings you haven't read or revisit the ones that intrigue you the most. Your knowledge and intellectual preception of all subjects is critical to the wisdom of all creation.

Eurasia

"Asia is the homeland of the human race ... born in the highlands of what is now Afghanistan ... persisted for over one-half million years. Here the Sangik peoples differentiated from the Andonic stock, and Asia was their first home, their first hunting ground, their first battlefield." UB 79:0.1

America

In 1775, the Revolutionary War between the colonies and Britain started. On July 4, 1776, people from the thirteen colonies created the United States Declaration of Independence that said they were free. The Americans won the war and then the battle for freedom really began.

Going Where DarwinFeared to Tread

War Is A Racket

Communism's45 Goals

Science

There always exists the danger that the purely physical scientist may become afflicted with mathematical pride and statistical egotism, not to mention spiritual blindness. Matter and spirit and the state intervening between them are three interrelated and interassociated levels of the true unity of the real universe. UB 133:5

Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of humans and their societies. Its main subdivisions are social and cultural anthropology, describing the workings of societies, linguistic anthropology, investigating the influence of language in social life, and biological or physical anthropology, concerned with the development of the human organism.

Archaeology

Archaeology is the study of human activity, the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology is both a social science and a branch of the humanities. Archaeologists study human prehistory and history.

Going Where DarwinFeared to Tread

ArdipithecusRamidus

Human GenomeProject

Money

"For the love of money is the root of all evil," said Paul to Timothy.

"He who controls the money supply of a nation controls the nation." -James A. Garfield

“History records that the money changers have used every form of abuse, intrigue, deceit, and violent means possible to maintain their control over governments by controlling money and its issuance.” -James Madison

“The few who understand the system will either be so interested in its profits or be so dependent upon its favours that there will be no opposition from that class, while on the other hand, the great body of people, mentally incapable of comprehending the tremendous advantage that capital derives from the system, will bear its burdens without complaint, and perhaps without even suspecting that the system is inimical to their interests.” The Rothschild brothers of London writing to associates in New York, 1863.

Secrets

"The very word 'secrecy' is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths, and to secret proceedings." -John F. Kennedy

Opposed we may be, but that doesn't stop The Controllers from practicing such repugnant behavior. We have so many secret societies it makes a head spin ... secret agencies, secret governments, secret laws, secret money, secret handshakes ... secret everything that has to do with that self-chosen class of elites hell-bent on owning it all — the planet, the atmosphere, outer space and everything in, on, or near those locations. If it moves, breathes, or has mass, they want to own it. That especially includes you and me, my darlin's. Can't have any freewill on the loose causing problems for the totalitarian New World Order (NWO). Acronym that backwards (OWN) and have a stroke! -Gail Bird Allen

Power

"Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny." -Thomas Jefferson

"Knowledge is power." -Francis Bacon

"Power is always dangerous. Power attracts the worst and corrupts the best." -Edward Abbey

"To enjoy privilege without abuse, to have liberty without license, to possess power and steadfastly refuse to use it for self-aggrandizement—these are the marks of high civilization." UB 48:7.8

"Jesus had a perfect grasp of the situation; he possessed unlimited power, which might have been utilized in the furtherance of his mission, but he was wholly content with means and personalities which most people would have regarded as inadequate and would have looked upon as insignificant. He was engaged in a mission of enormous dramatic possibilities, but he insisted on going about his Father's business in the most quiet and undramatic manner; he studiously avoided all display of power." UB 138:6.5

Conspiracy

1. An agreement to perform together an illegal, wrongful, or subversive act.
2. A group of conspirators.
3. Law. An agreement between two or more persons to commit a crime or accomplish a legal purpose through illegal action.

"If we are on the outside, we assume a conspiracy is the perfect working of a scheme. Silent nameless men with unadorned hearts. A conspiracy is everything that ordinary life is not. It’s the inside game, cold, sure, undistracted, forever closed off to us. We are the flawed ones, the innocents, trying to make some rough sense of the daily jostle. Conspirators have a logic and a daring beyond our reach. All conspiracies are the same taut story of men who find coherence in some criminal act." -Don DeLillo (b. 1926), U.S. author. Libra, pt. 2, “In Dallas” (1988)

"When the final roll was called, the corporeal members of the Prince's staff were found to have aligned themselves as follows: ... Nod and all of the commission on industry and trade joined Caligastia ("the devil")." UB 67:4.1

"The evil one concluded that the only hope for success lay in the adroit employment of suitable persons belonging to the upper strata of the Nodite group, the descendants of his onetime corporeal-staff associates." UB 75:2.3 ...and that explains how the CABAL was born.

Disabuse yourself of the idea that governments, corporations and NGO's do not engage in conspiracy for power and profit ... conspiracy was bred in the bed of capitalism. -Gail Bird Allen

History of The Urantia Book

Several members of this group who participated in the preliminary "contacts" which led up to the appearance of the Urantia Papers, had had considerable experience in the investigation of psychic phenomena. This group early arrived at the conclusion that the phenomena connected with the personality, who was later associated with the Urantia Papers, was in no way similar to any other well-known type of psychic performance - such as hypnosis, automatic writing, clairvoyance, trances, spirit mediumship, telepathy, or double personality.

It should be made clear that the antecedents of the Urantia Papers were in no way associated with so-called spiritualism -- with its seances and supposed communication with spirits of departed human beings.

Unique to The Urantia Book

The Urantia Book presents approximately 1000 concepts covering theology, science, history, philosophy, cosmology and others. Of these concepts there have been 64 identified as unique to The Urantia Book and presented for the first time on our planet.

Millions of other inhabited planets
Scores of different celestial personalities
Evolutionary origin of humankind and the physical realms
Intimation of multiple Creator Deities
"The First Source and Center" and "Havona"
"superuniverses" and "the Supreme Being"
"Master Spirits" and "outer space"
"Power Directors" and numerous orders of angels
"Thought Adjusters" (the spirit within)
The morontia level of existence
The Lucifer rebellion...

Revelation

The religious tendencies of the human races are innate; they are universally manifested and have an apparently natural origin; primitive religions are always evolutionary in their genesis. As natural religious experience continues to progress, periodic revelations of truth punctuate the otherwise slow-moving course of planetary evolution. UB 103:0.2

There have been many events of religious revelation but only five of epochal significance. These were as follows:The Dalamatian teachings. The true concept of the First Source and Center was first promulgated on Urantia by the one hundred corporeal members of Prince Caligastia' s staff.The Edenic teachings. Adam and Eve again portrayed the concept of the Father of all to the evolutionary peoples.Melchizedek of Salem. This emergency Son of Nebadon inaugurated the third revelation of truth on Urantia.Jesus of Nazareth. Christ Michael presented for the fourth time to Urantia the concept of God as the Universal Father, and this teaching has generally persisted ever since.The Urantia Papers.UB 92:4.4

The Urantia Book

The Urantia Book is a revelation given to our world by a commission of celestial personalities authorized and tasked to the mission by the Ancients of Days who rule over the seventh superuniverse that our world, named Urantia by the celestial administration, is part of. Over a twenty plus year period in the early 1900's this group of celestial personalities made contact with two prominent doctors, Dr. William Sadler and his wife Dr. Lena Sadler, that eventually culminated in The Urantia Book.

...except for contacts with the midwayers, no two contacts were alike. Seldom did we meet the visiting personalities more than once. Every contact was entirely different from any and all that had gone before. And all of this experience was an extensive and liberal preparatory educational training in the expansion of our cosmology, theology and philosophy..." Dr. William Sadler

Evolutionary religion is sentimental, not logical. It is man's reaction to belief in a hypothetical ghost-spirit world—the human belief-reflex, excited by the realization and fear of the unknown. Revelatory religion is propounded by the real spiritual world; it is the response of the superintellectual cosmos to the mortal hunger to believe in, and depend upon, the universal Deities. Evolutionary religion pictures the circuitous gropings of humanity in quest of truth; revelatory religion is that very truth. UB 92:4.3

Parts of the book

Read The Urantia Book

Although I leave breadcrumbs throughout the site to intice my visitors to read The Urantia Book it is best read from start to finish. I promise, you will know more about the physical and celestial realms than 98% of the world population.

This group of papers was sponsored by a commission of twelve Urantia midwayers acting under the supervision of a Melchizedek revelatory director.
The basis of this narrative was supplied by a secondary midwayer who was onetime assigned to the superhuman watchcare of the Apostle Andrew.

The Mission

The mission of RealityRoars.com is first to bring together a collection of material to support what is really going on in our world as opposed to what we're told is going on, and second to collect all the evidence I can find supporting the concepts presented in The Urantia Book about our world, the cosmos it's a part of and the celestial realm that oversees and upholds all of it.

Subjects of Focus

There are several 'ingredients' in the reality recipe that are brought together in pursuing the whole pie. The first is theology as religion was/is the first civilizer of man. The second is history as the events of the past explain the present and indicate the future. The third is science as we have to know about new discoveries and developments and their affects on our lives. The fourth is conspiracy as that seems to be the modus operandi of that arrogant group of self-appointed totalitarian rulers currently holding the reins of our world. Fifth is The Urantia Book as it is truly the ultimate whipped cream topping.

Why It's Important

I firmly believe that what we don't know will and does hurt us. The policy makers of this world count on us not knowing because if we don't know, we aren't concerned, and if we aren't concerned we don't speak up — and that's exactly the way they want it. I also firmly believe that everyone should be informed in order to make sound and intelligent decisions for themselves and their families. Everyone's intellect is critical to the smooth and moral working of the whole.

I try to learn something new everyday and I hope you do too.

About

Welcome to RealityRoars.com! With me it's all about knowing everything about everything that piques my interest. As it happens I'm interested in a variety of subjects and I've never been afraid of research and reading. I gladly share my findings with you here.

I'm the seventh-great niece of three signers (Ross, Read and Wilson) of the Declaration of Independence, two of them (Read and Wilson) also signing The Constitution for the united States of America and one of them (James Wilson) being a Framer and Founding Father as well as one of the first Supreme Court justices appointed by George Washington. I blame them for any political outrage or hissy fit I may throw in response to the aggregious criminal conspiracy infecting our freedoms, our fortunes and our pursuit of happiness. I'm convinced it's an inherited familial trait.

Contact Form

James Pritchard's classic anthologies of the ancient Near East have introduced generations of readers to texts essential for understanding the peoples and cultures of this important region. Now these two enduring works have been combined and integrated into one convenient and richly illustrated volume, with a new foreword that puts the translations in context.

With more than 130 reading selections and 300 photographs of ancient art, architecture, and artifacts, this volume provides a stimulating introduction to some of the most significant and widely studied texts of the ancient Near East, including the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Creation Epic (Enuma elish), the Code of Hammurabi, and the Baal Cycle. For students of history, religion, the Bible, archaeology, and anthropology, this anthology provides a wealth of material for understanding the ancient Near East.

Represents the diverse cultures and languages of the ancient Near East--Sumerian, Akkadian, Egyptian, Hittite, Ugaritic, Canaanite, and Aramaic--in a wide range of genres:

Historical texts

Legal texts and treaties

Inscriptions

Hymns

Didactic and wisdom literature

Oracles and prophecies

Love poetry and other literary texts

Letters

New foreword puts the classic translations in context

More than 300 photographs document ancient art, architecture, and artifacts related to the texts

One of the world's foremost experts on Assyriology, Jean Bottéro has studied the religion of ancient Mesopotamia for more than fifty years. Building on these many years of research, Bottéro here presents the definitive account of one of the world's oldest known religions. He shows how ancient Mesopotamian religion was practiced both in the public and private spheres, how it developed over the three millennia of its active existence, and how it profoundly influenced Western civilization, including the Hebrew Bible.

Explore the power of myth as it exploded from medieval Europe into the modern world

In this fourth volume of The Masks of God — Joseph Campbell's major work of comparative mythology — the pre-eminent mythologist looks at the birth of the modern, individualistic mythology as it developed in Europe beginning in the twelfth century A.D. up through the modernist art of the twentieth century.

The Masks of God is a four-volume study of world religion and myth that stands as one of Joseph Campbell's masterworks. On completing it, he wrote:

Its main result for me has been the confirmation of a thought I have long and faithfully entertained: of the unity of the race of man, not only in its biology, but also in its spiritual history, which has everywhere unfolded in the manner of a single symphony, with its themes announced, developed, amplified and turned about, distorted, reasserted, and today, in a grand fortissimo of all sections sounding together, irresistibly advancing to some kind of mighty climax, out of which the next great movement will emerge.

About the Author

Joseph Campbell was interested in mythology since his childhood in New York, when he read books about American Indians, frequently visited the American Museum of Natural History, and was fascinated by the museum's collection of totem poles. He earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees at Columbia in 1925 and 1927 and went on to study medieval French and Sanskrit at the universities of Paris and Munich. After a period in California, where he encountered John Steinbeck and the biologist Ed Ricketts, he taught at the Canterbury School, then, in 1934, joined the literature department at Sarah Lawrence College, a post he retained for many years. During the 1940s and '50s, he helped Swami Nikhilananda to translate the Upanishads and The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. The many books by Professor Campbell include The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Myths to Live By, The Flight of the Wild Gander, and The Mythic Image. He edited The Portable Arabian Nights, The Portable Jung, and other works. He died in 1987.

Love

Love is truly contagious and eternally creative. (p. 2018) “Devote your life to proving that love is the greatest thing in the world.” (p. 2047) “Love is the ancestor of all spiritual goodness, the essence of the true and the beautiful.” (p. 2047) The Father’s love can become real to mortal man only by passing through that man’s personality as he in turn bestows this love upon his fellows. (p. 1289) The secret of a better civilization is bound up in the Master’s teachings of the brotherhood of man, the good will of love and mutual trust. (p. 2065)

Prayer

Prayer is not a technique of escape from conflict but rather a stimulus to growth in the very face of conflict. (p. 1002) The sincerity of any prayer is the assurance of its being heard. … (p. 1639) God answers man’s prayer by giving him an increased revelation of truth, an enhanced appreciation of beauty, and an augmented concept of goodness. (p. 1002) …Never forget that the sincere prayer of faith is a mighty force for the promotion of personal happiness, individual self-control, social harmony, moral progress, and spiritual attainment. (p. 999)

Suffering

There is a great and glorious purpose in the march of the universes through space. All of your mortal struggling is not in vain. (p. 364) Mortals only learn wisdom by experiencing tribulation. (p. 556)

Angels

The angels of all orders are distinct personalities and are highly individualized. (p. 285) Angels....are fully cognizant of your moral struggles and spiritual difficulties. They love human beings, and only good can result from your efforts to understand and love them. (p. 419)

Our Divine Destiny

If you are a willing learner, if you want to attain spirit levels and reach divine heights, if you sincerely desire to reach the eternal goal, then the divine Spirit will gently and lovingly lead you along the pathway of sonship and spiritual progress. (p. 381) …They who know that God is enthroned in the human heart are destined to become like him—immortal. (p. 1449) God is not only the determiner of destiny; he is man’s eternal destination. (p. 67)

Family

Almost everything of lasting value in civilization has its roots in the family. (p. 765) The family is man’s greatest purely human achievement. ... (p. 939)

Faith

…Faith will expand the mind, ennoble the soul, reinforce the personality, augment the happiness, deepen the spirit perception, and enhance the power to love and be loved. (p. 1766) “Now, mistake not, my Father will ever respond to the faintest flicker of faith.” (p. 1733)

History/Science

The story of man’s ascent from seaweed to the lordship of earthly creation is indeed a romance of biologic struggle and mind survival. (p. 731) 2,500,000,000 years ago… Urantia was a well developed sphere about one tenth its present mass. … (p. 658) 1,000,000,000 years ago is the date of the actual beginning of Urantia [Earth] history. (p. 660) 450,000,000 years ago the transition from vegetable to animal life occurred. (p. 669) From the year A.D. 1934 back to the birth of the first two human beings is just 993,419 years. (p. 707) About five hundred thousand years ago…there were almost one-half billion primitive human beings on earth. … (p. 741) Adam and Eve arrived on Urantia, from the year A.D. 1934, 37,848 years ago. (p. 828)

From the Inside Flap

What’s Inside?

Parts I and II

God, the inhabited universes, life after death, angels and other beings, the war in heaven.

Part III

The history of the world, science and evolution, Adam and Eve, development of civilization, marriage and family, personal spiritual growth.

Part IV

The life and teachings of Jesus including the missing years. AND MUCH MORE…

Excerpts

God, …God is the source and destiny of all that is good and beautiful and true. (p. 1431) If you truly want to find God, that desire is in itself evidence that you have already found him. (p. 1440) When man goes in partnership with God, great things may, and do, happen. (p. 1467)

The Origin of Human Life, The universe is not an accident... (p. 53) The universe of universes is the work of God and the dwelling place of his diverse creatures. (p. 21) The evolutionary planets are the spheres of human origin…Urantia [Earth] is your starting point. … (p. 1225) In God, man lives, moves, and has his being. (p. 22)

The Purpose of Life, There is in the mind of God a plan which embraces every creature of all his vast domains, and this plan is an eternal purpose of boundless opportunity, unlimited progress, and endless life. (p. 365) This new gospel of the kingdom… presents a new and exalted goal of destiny, a supreme life purpose. (p. 1778)

Jesus, The religion of Jesus is the most dynamic influence ever to activate the human race. (p. 1091) What an awakening the world would experience if it could only see Jesus as he really lived on earth and know, firsthand, his life-giving teachings! (p. 2083)

Science, Science, guided by wisdom, may become man’s great social liberator. (p. 909) Mortal man is not an evolutionary accident. There is a precise system, a universal law, which determines the unfolding of the planetary life plan on the spheres of space. (p. 560)

Life after Death, God’s love is universal… He is “not willing that any should perish.” (p. 39) Your short sojourn on Urantia [Earth]…is only a single link, the very first in the long chain that is to stretch across universes and through the eternal ages. (p. 435) …Death is only the beginning of an endless career of adventure, an everlasting life of anticipation, an eternal voyage of discovery. (p. 159)

About the Author

The text of The Urantia Book was provided by one or more anonymous contributors working with a small staff which provided editorial and administrative support during the book's creation. The book bears no particular credentials (from a human viewpoint), relying instead on the power and beauty of the writing itself to persuade the reader of its authenticity.

Explore the power of myth as it flowered in the ancient Near East and the Classical World

In this third volume of The Masks of God — Joseph Campbell’s major work of comparative mythology — the preeminent mythologist looks at the pagan religions of Greece, Rome, and the Celts, as well as the Abrahamic religions — Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Exploring the West’s shift from female-centered to male-centered mythology, Campbell examines the distinguishing characteristics and the shared root concepts of these mythologies.The Masks of God is a four-volume study of world religion and myth that stands as one of Joseph Campbell’s masterworks. On completing it, he wrote:

Its main result for me has been the confirmation of a thought I have long and faithfully entertained: of the unity of the race of man, not only in its biology, but also in its spiritual history, which has everywhere unfolded in the manner of a single symphony, with its themes announced, developed, amplified and turned about, distorted, reasserted, and today, in a grand fortissimo of all sections sounding together, irresistibly advancing to some kind of mighty climax, out of which the next great movement will emerge.

About the Author

Joseph Campbell was interested in mythology since his childhood in New York, when he read books about American Indians, frequently visited the American Museum of Natural History, and was fascinated by the museum's collection of totem poles. He earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees at Columbia in 1925 and 1927 and went on to study medieval French and Sanskrit at the universities of Paris and Munich. After a period in California, where he encountered John Steinbeck and the biologist Ed Ricketts, he taught at the Canterbury School, then, in 1934, joined the literature department at Sarah Lawrence College, a post he retained for many years. During the 1940s and '50s, he helped Swami Nikhilananda to translate the Upanishads and The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. The many books by Professor Campbell include The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Myths to Live By, The Flight of the Wild Gander, and The Mythic Image. He edited The Portable Arabian Nights, The Portable Jung, and other works. He died in 1987.

“The Treasures of Darkness is the culmination of a lifetime’s work, an attempt to summarize and recreate the spiritual life of Ancient Mesopotamia. Jacobsen has succeeded brilliantly. . . . His vast experience shows through every page of this unique book, through the vivid, new translations resulting from years of careful research. Everyone interested in early Mesopotamia, whether specialist, student, or complete layman, should read this book. . . . It is, quite simply, authoritative, based on a vast experience of the ancient Mesopotamian mind, and very well written in the bargain.”―Brian M. Fagan, History

“Professor Jacobsen is an authority on Sumerian life and society, but he is above all a philologist of rare sensibility. The Treasures of Darkness is almost entirely devoted to textual evidence, the more gritty sources of archaeological knowledge being seldom mentioned. He introduces many new translations which are much finer than previous versions. . . . Simply to read this poetry and the author’s sympathetic commentary is a pleasure and a revelation. Professor Jacobsen accepts the premise that all religion springs from man’s experience of a power not of this world, a mysterious ‘Wholly Other.’ This numinous power cannot be described in terms of worldly experience but only in allusive ‘metaphors’ that serve as a means of communication in religious teaching and thought. . . . As a literary work combining sensibility, imagination and scholarship, this book is near perfection.”―Jacquetta Hawkes, The London Sunday Times

“A brilliant presentation of Mesopotamian religion from the inside, backed at every point by meticulous scholarship and persistent adherence to original texts. It will undoubtedly remain for a long time a classic in its field.”―Religious Studies Review

“A fascinating book. The general reader cannot fail to admire the translated passages of Sumerian poetry with which it abounds, especially those illustrating the Dumuzi-Inanna cycle of courtship, wedding and lament for the god’s untimely death. Many of these (though not all) are new even to the specialist and will repay close study.”―B.O.R. Gurney, Times Literary Supplement

Situated in an area roughly corresponding to present-day Iraq, Mesopotamia is one of the great, ancient civilizations, though it is still relatively unknown. Yet, over 7,000 years ago in Mesopotamia, the very first cities were created. This is the first book to reveal how life was lived in ten Mesopotamian cities: from Eridu, the Mesopotamian Eden, to that potent symbol of decadence, Babylon - the first true metropolis: multicultural, multi-ethnic, the last centre of a dying civilization.

About the Author

GWENDOLYN LEICK is an anthropologist and Assyriologist. She is the author of various publications on the Ancient Near East, including A Dictionary of Near Eastern Mythology and Sex & Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature. She also acts as a cultural tour guide in the Middle East, lecturing on history, archaeology and anthropology.

Scholarly proposals are presented for the pre-biblical origin in Mesopotamian myths of the Garden of Eden story. Some Liberal PhD scholars (1854-2010) embracing an Anthropological viewpoint have proposed that the Hebrews have recast earlier motifs appearing in Mesopotamian myths. Eden's garden is understood to be a recast of the gods' city-gardens in the Sumerian Edin, the floodplain of Lower Mesopotamia. It is understood that the Hebrews in the book of Genesis are refuting the Mesopotamian account of why Man was created and his relationship with his Creators (the gods and goddesses). They deny that Man is a sinner and rebel because he was made in the image of gods and goddesses who were themselves sinners and rebels, who made man to be their agricultural slave to grow and harvest their food and feed it to them in temple sacrifices thereby ending the need of the gods to toil for their food in the city-gardens of Edin in ancient Sumer.

Love

Love is truly contagious and eternally creative. (p. 2018) “Devote your life to proving that love is the greatest thing in the world.” (p. 2047) “Love is the ancestor of all spiritual goodness, the essence of the true and the beautiful.” (p. 2047) The Father’s love can become real to mortal man only by passing through that man’s personality as he in turn bestows this love upon his fellows. (p. 1289) The secret of a better civilization is bound up in the Master’s teachings of the brotherhood of man, the good will of love and mutual trust. (p. 2065)

Prayer

Prayer is not a technique of escape from conflict but rather a stimulus to growth in the very face of conflict. (p. 1002) The sincerity of any prayer is the assurance of its being heard. … (p. 1639) God answers man’s prayer by giving him an increased revelation of truth, an enhanced appreciation of beauty, and an augmented concept of goodness. (p. 1002) …Never forget that the sincere prayer of faith is a mighty force for the promotion of personal happiness, individual self-control, social harmony, moral progress, and spiritual attainment. (p. 999)

Suffering

There is a great and glorious purpose in the march of the universes through space. All of your mortal struggling is not in vain. (p. 364) Mortals only learn wisdom by experiencing tribulation. (p. 556)

Angels

The angels of all orders are distinct personalities and are highly individualized. (p. 285) Angels....are fully cognizant of your moral struggles and spiritual difficulties. They love human beings, and only good can result from your efforts to understand and love them. (p. 419)

Our Divine Destiny

If you are a willing learner, if you want to attain spirit levels and reach divine heights, if you sincerely desire to reach the eternal goal, then the divine Spirit will gently and lovingly lead you along the pathway of sonship and spiritual progress. (p. 381) …They who know that God is enthroned in the human heart are destined to become like him—immortal. (p. 1449) God is not only the determiner of destiny; he is man’s eternal destination. (p. 67)

Family

Almost everything of lasting value in civilization has its roots in the family. (p. 765) The family is man’s greatest purely human achievement. ... (p. 939)

Faith

…Faith will expand the mind, ennoble the soul, reinforce the personality, augment the happiness, deepen the spirit perception, and enhance the power to love and be loved. (p. 1766) “Now, mistake not, my Father will ever respond to the faintest flicker of faith.” (p. 1733)

History/Science

The story of man’s ascent from seaweed to the lordship of earthly creation is indeed a romance of biologic struggle and mind survival. (p. 731) 2,500,000,000 years ago… Urantia was a well developed sphere about one tenth its present mass. … (p. 658) 1,000,000,000 years ago is the date of the actual beginning of Urantia [Earth] history. (p. 660) 450,000,000 years ago the transition from vegetable to animal life occurred. (p. 669) From the year A.D. 1934 back to the birth of the first two human beings is just 993,419 years. (p. 707) About five hundred thousand years ago…there were almost one-half billion primitive human beings on earth. … (p. 741) Adam and Eve arrived on Urantia, from the year A.D. 1934, 37,848 years ago. (p. 828)

From the Inside Flap

What’s Inside?

Parts I and II

God, the inhabited universes, life after death, angels and other beings, the war in heaven.

Part III

The history of the world, science and evolution, Adam and Eve, development of civilization, marriage and family, personal spiritual growth.

Part IV

The life and teachings of Jesus including the missing years. AND MUCH MORE…

Excerpts

God, …God is the source and destiny of all that is good and beautiful and true. (p. 1431) If you truly want to find God, that desire is in itself evidence that you have already found him. (p. 1440) When man goes in partnership with God, great things may, and do, happen. (p. 1467)

The Origin of Human Life, The universe is not an accident... (p. 53) The universe of universes is the work of God and the dwelling place of his diverse creatures. (p. 21) The evolutionary planets are the spheres of human origin…Urantia [Earth] is your starting point. … (p. 1225) In God, man lives, moves, and has his being. (p. 22)

The Purpose of Life, There is in the mind of God a plan which embraces every creature of all his vast domains, and this plan is an eternal purpose of boundless opportunity, unlimited progress, and endless life. (p. 365) This new gospel of the kingdom… presents a new and exalted goal of destiny, a supreme life purpose. (p. 1778)

Jesus, The religion of Jesus is the most dynamic influence ever to activate the human race. (p. 1091) What an awakening the world would experience if it could only see Jesus as he really lived on earth and know, firsthand, his life-giving teachings! (p. 2083)

Science, Science, guided by wisdom, may become man’s great social liberator. (p. 909) Mortal man is not an evolutionary accident. There is a precise system, a universal law, which determines the unfolding of the planetary life plan on the spheres of space. (p. 560)

Life after Death, God’s love is universal… He is “not willing that any should perish.” (p. 39) Your short sojourn on Urantia [Earth]…is only a single link, the very first in the long chain that is to stretch across universes and through the eternal ages. (p. 435) …Death is only the beginning of an endless career of adventure, an everlasting life of anticipation, an eternal voyage of discovery. (p. 159)

About the Author

The text of The Urantia Book was provided by one or more anonymous contributors working with a small staff which provided editorial and administrative support during the book's creation. The book bears no particular credentials (from a human viewpoint), relying instead on the power and beauty of the writing itself to persuade the reader of its authenticity.

UB 73:0.3 Tabamantia, sovereign supervisor of the series of decimal or experimental worlds, came to inspect the planet and, after his survey of racial progress, duly recommended that Urantia be granted Material Sons. In a little less than one hundred years from the time of this inspection, Adam and Eve, a Material Son and Daughter of the local system, arrived and began the difficult task of attempting to untangle the confused affairs of a planet retarded by rebellion and resting under the ban of spiritual isolation.

UB 73:1.1 On a normal planet the arrival of the Material Son would ordinarily herald the approach of a great age of invention, material progress, and intellectual enlightenment. The post-Adamic era is the great scientific age of most worlds, but not so on Urantia. Though the planet was peopled by races physically fit, the tribes languished in the depths of savagery and moral stagnation.

UB 73:1.2 Ten thousand years after the rebellion practically all the gains of the Prince's administration had been effaced; the races of the world were little better off than if this misguided Son had never come to Urantia. Only among the Nodites and the Amadonites was there persistence of the traditions of Dalamatia and the culture of the Planetary Prince.

UB 73:1.3 The Nodites were the descendants of the rebel members of the Prince's staff, their name deriving from their first leader, Nod, onetime chairman of the Dalamatia commission on industry and trade. The Amadonites were the descendants of those Andonites who chose to remain loyal with Van and Amadon. "Amadonite" is more of a cultural and religious designation than a racial term; racially considered the Amadonites were essentially Andonites. "Nodite" is both a cultural and racial term, for the Nodites themselves constituted the eighth race of Urantia.

UB 73:1.4 There existed a traditional enmity between the Nodites and the Amadonites. This feud was constantly coming to the surface whenever the offspring of these two groups would try to engage in some common enterprise. Even later, in the affairs of Eden, it was exceedingly difficult for them to work together in peace.

UB 73:1.5 Shortly after the destruction of Dalamatia the followers of Nod became divided into three major groups. The central group remained in the immediate vicinity of their original home near the headwaters of the Persian Gulf. The eastern group migrated to the highland regions of Elam just east of the Euphrates valley. The western group was situated on the northeastern Syrian shores of the Mediterranean and in adjacent territory.

UB 73:1.6 These Nodites had freely mated with the Sangik races and had left behind an able progeny. And some of the descendants of the rebellious Dalamatians subsequently joined Van and his loyal followers in the lands north of Mesopotamia. Here, in the vicinity of Lake Van and the southern Caspian Sea region, the Nodites mingled and mixed with the Amadonites, and they were numbered among the "mighty men of old."

UB 73:1.7 Prior to the arrival of Adam and Eve these groups—Nodites and Amadonites—were the most advanced and cultured races on earth.

UB 74:0.1Adam and Eve arrived on Urantia, from the year A.D. 1934, 37,848 years ago. It was in midseason when the Garden was in the height of bloom that they arrived. At high noon and unannounced, the two seraphic transports, accompanied by the Jerusem personnel intrusted with the transportation of the biologic uplifters to Urantia, settled slowly to the surface of the revolving planet in the vicinity of the temple of the Universal Father. All the work of rematerializing the bodies of Adam and Eve was carried on within the precincts of this newly created shrine. And from the time of their arrival ten days passed before they were re-created in dual human form for presentation as the world's new rulers. They regained consciousness simultaneously. The Material Sons and Daughters always serve together. It is the essence of their service at all times and in all places never to be separated. They are designed to work in pairs; seldom do they function alone.

This 400th anniversary edition of the King James Version of the Bible is a reprint of the 1611 text, in an easy-to-read roman font instead of the black-letter type of the original. The original capital letters, many of which are pictorial, have been restored to each chapter in order to replicate the visual appeal of the early editions.

The 1611 text is followed page-for-page and line-for-line, and all misprints are reproduced rather than corrected. The large body of preliminary matter, which includes genealogies, maps, and lists of readings, is also included. The text of the 1611 edition differs from modern editions of the King James Version in thousands of details, and this edition is the most authentic version of the original text that has ever been published.

The volume concludes with an essay by Gordon Campbell on the first edition of the King James Bible.

About the Author

Gordon Campbell is Professor of Renaissance Studies, Department of English at the University of Leicester

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 5 and every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. 6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. 7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

8 And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. 11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; 12 and the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. 13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. 14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. 15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

18 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. 19 And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. 20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. 21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 and the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Adam, Prometheus, and Faust--their stories were central to the formation of Western consciousness and continue to be timely cautionary tales in an age driven by information and technology. Here Theodore Ziolkowski explores how each myth represents a response on the part of ancient Hebrew, ancient Greek, and sixteenth-century Christian culture to the problem of knowledge, particularly humankind's powerful, perennial, and sometimes unethical desire for it. This book exposes for the first time the similarities underlying these myths as well as their origins in earlier trickster legends, and considers when and why they emerged in their respective societies. It then examines the variations through which the themes have been adapted by modern writers to express their own awareness of the sin of knowledge.

Each myth is shown to capture the anxiety of a society when faced with new knowledge that challenges traditional values. Ziolkowski's examples of recent appropriations of the myths are especially provocative. From Voltaire to the present, the Fall of Adam has provided an image for the emergence from childhood innocence into the consciousness of maturity. Prometheus, as the challenger of authority and the initiator of technological evil, yielded an ambivalent model for the socialist imagination of the German Democratic Republic. And finally, an America unsettled by its responsibility for the atomic bomb, and worrying that in its postwar prosperity it had betrayed its values, recognized in Faust the disturbing image of its soul.

“The author of this book is one of the leading Assyriologists of our time, and his mastery of his subject is evident throughout.” ―Arnold Toynbee, The Observer

M. Contenau has chosen to survey the period between 700 and 530 B. C. out of the whole 2600 years of Mesopotamian civilization for two reasons: it is the most representative and more is known about it than any other time in the history of this culture. During these years the Near East was dominated first by the Assyrians and then by the Babylonians, who were to be subdued by the Persians. The everyday life of these people has been reconstructed from a wealth of evidence, both written records of many kinds preserved on clay tablets and the evidence of monuments excavated at such sites as Khorsabad and Nineveh, Nimrud and Asher, Babylon and Susa. “Perhaps the main impression. . .that we carry away from this survey is that the life of an inhabitant of Babylonia in about 600 B. C. must have closely resembled that of any inhabitant of the Orient up to about fifty years ago,” writes M. Contenau. This account of Mesopotamian life is, therefore, pertinent not only to an understanding of the age of Assyria and Babylonia but also to all the civilizations that have succeeded it in that part of the world.

Our ancestors, the Mesopotamians, invented writing and with it a new way of looking at the world. In this collection of essays, the French scholar Jean Bottero attempts to go back to the moment which marks the very beginning of history.
To give the reader some sense of how Mesopotamian civilization has been mediated and interpreted in its transmission through time, Bottero begins with an account of Assyriology, the discipline devoted to the ancient culture. This transmission, compounded with countless discoveries, would not have been possible without the surprising decipherment of the cuneiform writing system. Bottero also focuses on divination in the ancient world, contending that certain modes of worship in Mesopotamia, in their application of causality and proof, prefigure the "scientific mind."

This unique book surveys within the various literary genres the parallels between the Bible and the literature of the ancient Near East. Each section begins with a survey of the available ancient literature, continues with a discussion of the literature, and concludes with a discussion of cases of alleged borrowing. The genres covered are - cosmology - laws - historical literature - wisdom literature - apocalyptic literature - personal archives and epics - covenants and treaties - hymns, prayers, and incantations - prophetic literature --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

John H. Walton (PhD, Hebrew Union College) is professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College Graduate School. He is the author or coauthor of several books, including Chronological and Background Charts of the Old Testament; Ancient Israelite Literature in Its Cultural Context; Covenant: God's Purpose, God's Plan; The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament; and A Survey of the Old Testament. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Stephen Herbert Langdon was an American-born British Assyriologist. Born to George Knowles and Abigail Hassinger Langdon in Monroe, Michigan, Langdon studied at the University of Michigan, participating in Phi Beta Kappa and earning an A. B. in 1898 and an A. M. in 1899. Following this he went to New York's Union Theological Seminary, graduating in 1903, and then on to Columbia University to obtain a Ph.D. in 1904. Langdon then became a fellow of Columbia in France (1904-1906), during which time he was ordained as a deacon of the Church of England (1905) in Paris. Subsequently, he moved to Oxford University in England (where he was a member of the Jesus College Senior Common Room though not a Fellow), becoming a Shillito reader in Assyriology in 1908, a British citizen in 1913, and after the retirement of Archibald Sayce, a Professor of Assyriology in 1919. However, in 1916, when World War I had diminished the size of his classes in England, he spent some time at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, serving as the curator of its Babylonian section.

This is a reproduction of a book believed to be published in 1916. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.

Here is a complete translation of all the published cuneiform tablets of the various Babylonian creation stories, of both the Semitic Babylonian and the Sumerian material. Each creation account is preceded by a brief introduction dealing with the age and provenance of the tablets, the aim and purpose of the story, etc. Also included is a translation and discussion of two Babylonian creation versions written in Greek. The final chapter presents a detailed examination of the Babylonian creation accounts in their relation to our Old Testament literature.

Excerpt from Tammuz and Ishtar: A Monograph Upon Babylonian Religion and Theology, Containing Extensive Extracts From the Tammuz Liturgies and All of the Arbela Oracles

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Paperback: 214 pagesPublisher: Forgotten Books (April 19, 2018)

The Origin Of Biblical Traditions Hebrew Legends In Babylonia And Israel Lectures On Biblical Archaeology

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

In every culture, in every epoch, human beings have yearned for heaven -- the dwelling place of the gods, mirror of our hopes and desires. Now, in The Quest for Paradise, renowned scholar John Ashton and his colleague Tom Whyte offer an intriguing look at how we have thought of and envisioned heaven and the afterlife, from the ancient cultures of Egypt, Greece, and Rome, to the Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims, as well as the indigenous peoples of the Americas, Australia, and Africa.

Lavishly illustrated with extensive depictions of heaven in art from around the world, and drawing on scriptures, myths, epics, poems, novels, philosophy, and other writings from many cultures, The Quest for Paradise illuminates the vast spectrum of beliefs about the world beyond. The book also explores the concept of utopia, or paradise on earth, from the perspective of such diverse thinkers as H.G. Wells, D.H. Lawrence, Margaret Mead, and Aldous Huxley.

Ashton and Whyte present a fascinating array of ancient and modern views of heaven. Included are extraordinary inhabitants and geographical features, representing scenes from works such as The Odyssey, the Bible, the Quran, and the Sukhavativyuha Sutras, and from the works of writers such as Hesiod, Ovid, Virgil, Dante, Milton, and Yeats, highlighting both the diversity and the universality of reflection on heaven.

"This is an admirable translation, a great masterpiece of universal literature."--Mircea Eliade"A splendid mutual accomplishment and a great gift ot mythology...."Inanna "is a book to be cherished."--P.L. Travers"In the myth of Inanna, Wolkstein and Kramer give us back the totality of woman, the ruler-wife-lover-redeemer, whom all worshiped and from whom all life flowed. It is a thrilling rediscovery."--Olivier Bernier"Wolkstein has been able to convey in English the rich metaphor, the erotic fullness, and the ritual pacing of these ancient stories....Taken together with the illustrations, historical discussions, and textual commentaries, this book is worth a tower of scholarly tomes....Such a feat is remarkable and rare."--Barre Toelken, Director of Folklore and Ethnic Studies, University of Oregon"I felt shivers of recognition reading these ancient lines that proclaim Inanna's discovery of her prowess....Kramer and Wolkstein make us love their awesome goddess whose stormy complexities have been concealed in cuneiform tablets for thousands of years."--Nor Hall

About the Author

Diane Wolkstein has been teaching, performing, and writing for over thirty-five years. She is the author of numerous award-winning books of folklore, including The Magic Orange Tree, and Other Haitian Folktales and Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer. Known for her meticulous research as well as her great range as a performer, Ms. Wolkstein traveled to Australia three times while preparing this story. She gives workshops on storytelling worldwide and lives in New York City.

In Her Own Words...

"I love stories. They give me strength, Inspiration, courage, and great delight. For thirty years I've told stories at the statue of Hans Christian Andersen in Central Park. I love watching the eyes of my audience light up as they enter stories. Stories let us explore the farthest places in the universe and the deepest recesses of the human heart. They present possibilities. They let us try out different emotions and characters. Stories are treasures which last forever.

"I also enjoy gardening, dancing, swimming, painting, and creating stories with music. My daughter, Rachel Zucker, is a poet, photographer, and the mother of a little boy named Moses."

Cuneiform records made some three thousand years ago are the basis for this essay on the ideas of death and the afterlife and the story of the flood which were current among the ancient peoples of the Tigro-Euphrates Valley. With the same careful scholarship shown in his previous volume, The Babylonian Genesis, Heidel interprets the famous Gilgamesh Epic and other related Babylonian and Assyrian documents. He compares them with corresponding portions of the Old Testament in order to determine the inherent historical relationship of Hebrew and Mesopotamian ideas.

About the Author

Alexander Heidel was at the time of his death in 1955 on the research staff of the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago.

This collection explores the spread of culture through literacy from Mesopotamia into Egypt, Palestine and Greece after a system of writing was developed. By gathering evidence from a vast range of material and literary sources from 3000 BC onwards, threads of influence and continuity are traced into the Middle Ages. The effect of recent rediscovery on European art is also explored.

When one hears the words "archaeology" or "archaeologist," often what comes to mind is an image of a romantic figure: Indiana Jones exploring exotic places in search of treasure and adventure. Indeed, novels, movies, and many popular accounts of archaeological discoveries have made this concept widespread. Tales of abandoned cities, ruined temples, primeval monuments, or mysterious ancient tombs tend to kindle the urge for adventure, exploration, or treasure hunting that seems to lie beneath the surface of even the most timid and conventional individuals. Today, however, archaeologists seek knowledge rather than objects that are intrinsically valuable. Their ultimate goal is to sweep aside the mists in which time has enveloped the past, helping us to understand vanished peoples and cultures.

In Uncovering the Past, William H. Stiebing, Jr. offers an absorbing nontechnical history of archaeology, tracing the study of ancient material culture from its beginnings in the Renaissance through its development into the sophisticated modern discipline we know today. The first study to focus on archaeology as a discipline, Stiebing has organized this concise history into the four stages of archaeological development. The first two stages (1450-1860 and 1860-1925), known as the "heroic age," focus on the exploits of colorful, dynamic excavators who have made their mark on history and our imaginations. We read accounts of Giovanni Belzoni and the removal of the seven-ton colossus of Ramesses II, which was dragged by wooden platform and transported by boat from Egypt to London; we witness the clergyman John Peters's skirmish with Arab tribesmen, who surrounded his excavation site and finally pillaged and burned his camp; and Heinrich Schliemann's quest to prove the authenticity of Homer's Iliad by searching for ancient Troy along the Turkish coast. And we watch as archaeology comes of age as an academic discipline, employing stratigraphical excavation techniques, typographical sequence dating, and stratigraphically based pottery chronology--laying the foundation for universal archaeological activity. The third phase (1925-1960) marked the era of "Modern Archaeology," a time when, using the now generally accepted stratigraphical method of excavation, scholars were able to synthesize data to define individual cultures and trace their development through time. This period saw a greater use of scientific instruments and procedures to locate, date, and interpret remains, such as aerial photography, metal detectors, and most importantly, carbon-14 dating and tree-ring chronology. Lastly, Stiebing discusses the fourth phase of development (1960-present) which introduced a greater desire and need for a more complete understanding of ancient cultures, including their ecology, and attempts to explain why certain cultural phenomena occurred. He goes on to examine the greater emphasis on a cultural revolutionary approach, coupled with technological advances in robotics and computers over the last decade and a half and their commonplace role in modern archaeology.

With over eighty photographs, illustrations, and maps, this vivid history is an outstanding introduction to the intriguing field of archaeology, chronicling the development of this former pastime of dilettantes into a rigorous science.

About the Author

William H. Stiebing, Jr. is Professor of History at the University of New Orleans and author of the critically acclaimed Out of the Desert?.

Against the Galilaeans, meaning Christians, was a Greek polemical essay written by the Roman Emperor Flavius Claudius Julianus, commonly known as Julian the Apostate, during his short reign (361–363). Despite having been originally written in Greek, it is better known under its Latin name, probably due to its extensive reference in the polemical response Contra Julianum by Cyril of Alexandria. As emperor, Julian had tried to stop the growing influence of Christianity in the Roman Empire, and had encouraged support for the original pagan imperial cults and ethnic religions of the Empire. In this essay Julian's described what he considered to be the mistakes and dangers of the Christian faith, and he attempted to throw an unflattering light on ongoing disputes inside the Christian Church. Julian portrayed Christians as apostates from Judaism, which the Emperor considered to be a very old and established religion that should be fully accepted. After Julian's death in battle in 363, the essay was anathematized, and even the text was lost. We only know of Julian's arguments second-hand, through texts written by Christian authors who sought to refute Julian. Julian first criticizes the practice of the Galileans of denying the existence of the gods, and their practice, taken from the Greeks, of being lazy and superstitious. Julian claims that men inherently know of the existence of God without being taught of it and that all men have an inherent belief that the gods reside in the heavens and observe what occurs in the world. Further, all men, from looking at the stable nature of the heavenly bodies, have come to believe that the gods are eternal and unchanging. Julian goes on to discuss the creation myths of the Greeks and the Jews, citing the account of the Book of Genesis. He ridicules the idea of literally interpreting the Jewish account, claiming that it is not only logically impossible, he asks how the serpent was able to speak a human language but that is also blasphemous and insulting to God. A true God, he says, would not have withheld the knowledge of good and evil from men or have been jealous of men eating from the tree of life and living forever. Indeed, this behavior shows God to be evil and the serpent, giving man the enormously valuable gift of differentiating good and evil, to be good. Therefore, it must have a deeper meaning.

The works of many early critics of the Christian church were burned by ruling emperors or otherwise destroyed in the second and third centuries, but the writings of the Greek pagan philosopher, Celsus, have survived indirectly through his eloquent opponent Origen of Alexandria. In his apologetical treatise, Contra Celsum, Origen argues against the ideas set forth by Celsus and quotes from Celsus' The True Doctrine at length. Through this treatise, Celsus has come to represent the detached pagan voice of the ages. In this translation, Professor Hoffmann has, for the first time, painstakingly reconstructed the main order of the philosopher's argument. Celsus' discourse shows him to be an eclectic philosopher--a dabbler in various schools of thought, including Platonism and Stoicism, and a student of the history and religious customs of many nations. Hoffman supplements this definitive translation with an informative introduction, summarizing Celsus' premises and placing the identity of Celsus in its historical context.

Here, David Leeming offers the first comprehensive narrative study of the mythology of the Middle East. Leeming offers an in-depth discussion of the mythology of the region, covering individual pantheons, cosmic myths, mythic heroes, and much more. He ranges from prehistoric figures such as the Mother Goddess of Çatal Hüyük to Mesopotamian gods such as Marduk and mythic heroes such as Gilgamesh, to the pantheon of Egyptian mythology, including the falcon-headed sky-sun god Horus and jackal-headed Anubis. The author also offers an illuminating exploration of the mythology of the three great monotheistic religions of the region: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In a provocative Epilogue, Leeming notes that fundamentalists in the area's three religions all see their way as the only way, forgetting that myths represent truths that are spiritual and philosophical--not historical events that can be used to justify acts of violence. With key maps, illustrations, bibliography, and index, Jealous Gods and Chosen People provides an inclusive, authoritative, and captivating account of a mythology that remains a potent--and often destructive--force in the world today.

About the Author

David Leeming is Emeritus Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Connecticut. His many books include Myths, Legends, and Folktales of America, with Jake Page, A Dictionary of Asian Mythology and Myth: A Biography of Belief. He lives in Riverdale, New York.

An ancient inscription identified some of the ruins at el Amarna as "The Place of the Letters of the Pharaoh." Discovered there, circa 1887, were nearly four hundred cuneiform tablets containing correspondence of the Egyptian court with rulers of neighboring states in the mid-fourteenth century B.C. Previous translations of these letters were both incomplete and reflected an imperfect understanding of the Babylonian dialects in which they were written. William Moran devoted a lifetime of study to the Amarna letters to prepare this authoritative English translation.
The letters provide a vivid record of high-level diplomatic exchanges that, by modern standards, are often less than diplomatic. An Assyrian ruler complains that the Egyptian king's latest gift of gold was not even sufficient to pay the cost of the messengers who brought it. The king of Babylon refuses to give his daughter in marriage to the pharaoh without first having proof that the king's sister―already one of the pharaoh's many wives―is still alive and well. The king of Karaduniyash complains that the Egyptian court has "detained" his messenger―for the past six years. And Egyptian vassal Rib-Hadda, writing from the besieged port of Byblos, repeatedly demands military assistance for his city or, failing that, an Egyptian ship to permit his own escape.

This magnificent collection of articles on OT literature, history, religion and culture comprises the following studies: A.L. Merrill and J.R. Spencer, 'The Uppsala School' of Biblical Studies. W. Boyd Barrick, G.W. Ahlström in Profile. B. Glazier-McDonald, G.W. Ahlström: A Bibliography. W. Boyd Barrick and J.R. Spencer, Parentheses in a Snowstorm: G.W. Ahlström and the Study of Ancient Palestine. P.A.H. de Boer, Psalm 81.6a: Observations on Translation and Meaning of One Hebrew Line. N.C. Habel, The Role of Elihu in the Design of the Book of Job. C.E. L'Heureux, The Redactional History of Isaiah 5.1-10.4. D. Pardee, The Semantic Parallelism of Psalm 89. J. Van Seters, Joshua 24 and the Problem of Tradition in the Old Testament. M. Haran, The Shining of Moses' Face: A Case in Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Iconography. A.S. Kapelrud, The Prophets and the Covenant. M. Ottosson, The Prophet Elijah's Visit to Zarephath. B. Otzen, Heavenly Visions in Early Judaism: Origin and Function. A.W. Sjöberg, Eve and the Chameleon. G. Widengren, Yahweh's Gathering of the Dispersed. P.R. Ackroyd, The Biblical Interpretation of the Reigns of Ahaz and Hezekiah. S. Herrmann, King David's State. S.A. Kaufman, A Reconstruction of the Social Welfare Systems of Ancient Israel. T.W. Overholt, Thoughts on the Use of Charisma in Old Testament Studies. J.M. Sasson, The Biographic Mode in Hebrew Historiography.

In this book Professor Woolley, one of the world's foremost archaeologists, shows quite clearly that when Egyptian civilization began the civilization of the Sumerians had already flourished for at least 2,000 years.

The idea that Egypt was the earliest civilization has been entirely exploded. The Sumerians had reached a very high level of culture by 3500 B.C.E., and may be said with some justice to be the forerunners of all the Old World civilizations of Egypt, Assyria, Asia Minor, Crete, and Greece. This book will appeal to everyone interested in the early history of humankind.

About the Author

Sir Charles Leonard Woolley, as leader of the joint expedition of the University of Pennsylvania Museum and the British Museum, directed important excavations on the site of Ur of the Chaldees, a famous city long buried in the desert sand of Mesopotamia.

James Pritchard's classic anthologies of the ancient Near East have introduced generations of readers to texts essential for understanding the peoples and cultures of this important region. Now these two enduring works have been combined and integrated into one convenient and richly illustrated volume, with a new foreword that puts the translations in context.

With more than 130 reading selections and 300 photographs of ancient art, architecture, and artifacts, this volume provides a stimulating introduction to some of the most significant and widely studied texts of the ancient Near East, including the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Creation Epic (Enuma elish), the Code of Hammurabi, and the Baal Cycle. For students of history, religion, the Bible, archaeology, and anthropology, this anthology provides a wealth of material for understanding the ancient Near East.

Represents the diverse cultures and languages of the ancient Near East--Sumerian, Akkadian, Egyptian, Hittite, Ugaritic, Canaanite, and Aramaic--in a wide range of genres:

Historical texts

Legal texts and treaties

Inscriptions

Hymns

Didactic and wisdom literature

Oracles and prophecies

Love poetry and other literary texts

Letters

New foreword puts the classic translations in context

More than 300 photographs document ancient art, architecture, and artifacts related to the texts

One of the world's foremost experts on Assyriology, Jean Bottéro has studied the religion of ancient Mesopotamia for more than fifty years. Building on these many years of research, Bottéro here presents the definitive account of one of the world's oldest known religions. He shows how ancient Mesopotamian religion was practiced both in the public and private spheres, how it developed over the three millennia of its active existence, and how it profoundly influenced Western civilization, including the Hebrew Bible.

Explore the power of myth as it exploded from medieval Europe into the modern world

In this fourth volume of The Masks of God — Joseph Campbell's major work of comparative mythology — the pre-eminent mythologist looks at the birth of the modern, individualistic mythology as it developed in Europe beginning in the twelfth century A.D. up through the modernist art of the twentieth century.

The Masks of God is a four-volume study of world religion and myth that stands as one of Joseph Campbell's masterworks. On completing it, he wrote:

Its main result for me has been the confirmation of a thought I have long and faithfully entertained: of the unity of the race of man, not only in its biology, but also in its spiritual history, which has everywhere unfolded in the manner of a single symphony, with its themes announced, developed, amplified and turned about, distorted, reasserted, and today, in a grand fortissimo of all sections sounding together, irresistibly advancing to some kind of mighty climax, out of which the next great movement will emerge.

About the Author

Joseph Campbell was interested in mythology since his childhood in New York, when he read books about American Indians, frequently visited the American Museum of Natural History, and was fascinated by the museum's collection of totem poles. He earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees at Columbia in 1925 and 1927 and went on to study medieval French and Sanskrit at the universities of Paris and Munich. After a period in California, where he encountered John Steinbeck and the biologist Ed Ricketts, he taught at the Canterbury School, then, in 1934, joined the literature department at Sarah Lawrence College, a post he retained for many years. During the 1940s and '50s, he helped Swami Nikhilananda to translate the Upanishads and The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. The many books by Professor Campbell include The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Myths to Live By, The Flight of the Wild Gander, and The Mythic Image. He edited The Portable Arabian Nights, The Portable Jung, and other works. He died in 1987.

Love

Love is truly contagious and eternally creative. (p. 2018) “Devote your life to proving that love is the greatest thing in the world.” (p. 2047) “Love is the ancestor of all spiritual goodness, the essence of the true and the beautiful.” (p. 2047) The Father’s love can become real to mortal man only by passing through that man’s personality as he in turn bestows this love upon his fellows. (p. 1289) The secret of a better civilization is bound up in the Master’s teachings of the brotherhood of man, the good will of love and mutual trust. (p. 2065)

Prayer

Prayer is not a technique of escape from conflict but rather a stimulus to growth in the very face of conflict. (p. 1002) The sincerity of any prayer is the assurance of its being heard. … (p. 1639) God answers man’s prayer by giving him an increased revelation of truth, an enhanced appreciation of beauty, and an augmented concept of goodness. (p. 1002) …Never forget that the sincere prayer of faith is a mighty force for the promotion of personal happiness, individual self-control, social harmony, moral progress, and spiritual attainment. (p. 999)

Suffering

There is a great and glorious purpose in the march of the universes through space. All of your mortal struggling is not in vain. (p. 364) Mortals only learn wisdom by experiencing tribulation. (p. 556)

Angels

The angels of all orders are distinct personalities and are highly individualized. (p. 285) Angels....are fully cognizant of your moral struggles and spiritual difficulties. They love human beings, and only good can result from your efforts to understand and love them. (p. 419)

Our Divine Destiny

If you are a willing learner, if you want to attain spirit levels and reach divine heights, if you sincerely desire to reach the eternal goal, then the divine Spirit will gently and lovingly lead you along the pathway of sonship and spiritual progress. (p. 381) …They who know that God is enthroned in the human heart are destined to become like him—immortal. (p. 1449) God is not only the determiner of destiny; he is man’s eternal destination. (p. 67)

Family

Almost everything of lasting value in civilization has its roots in the family. (p. 765) The family is man’s greatest purely human achievement. ... (p. 939)

Faith

…Faith will expand the mind, ennoble the soul, reinforce the personality, augment the happiness, deepen the spirit perception, and enhance the power to love and be loved. (p. 1766) “Now, mistake not, my Father will ever respond to the faintest flicker of faith.” (p. 1733)

History/Science

The story of man’s ascent from seaweed to the lordship of earthly creation is indeed a romance of biologic struggle and mind survival. (p. 731) 2,500,000,000 years ago… Urantia was a well developed sphere about one tenth its present mass. … (p. 658) 1,000,000,000 years ago is the date of the actual beginning of Urantia [Earth] history. (p. 660) 450,000,000 years ago the transition from vegetable to animal life occurred. (p. 669) From the year A.D. 1934 back to the birth of the first two human beings is just 993,419 years. (p. 707) About five hundred thousand years ago…there were almost one-half billion primitive human beings on earth. … (p. 741) Adam and Eve arrived on Urantia, from the year A.D. 1934, 37,848 years ago. (p. 828)

From the Inside Flap

What’s Inside?

Parts I and II

God, the inhabited universes, life after death, angels and other beings, the war in heaven.

Part III

The history of the world, science and evolution, Adam and Eve, development of civilization, marriage and family, personal spiritual growth.

Part IV

The life and teachings of Jesus including the missing years. AND MUCH MORE…

Excerpts

God, …God is the source and destiny of all that is good and beautiful and true. (p. 1431) If you truly want to find God, that desire is in itself evidence that you have already found him. (p. 1440) When man goes in partnership with God, great things may, and do, happen. (p. 1467)

The Origin of Human Life, The universe is not an accident... (p. 53) The universe of universes is the work of God and the dwelling place of his diverse creatures. (p. 21) The evolutionary planets are the spheres of human origin…Urantia [Earth] is your starting point. … (p. 1225) In God, man lives, moves, and has his being. (p. 22)

The Purpose of Life, There is in the mind of God a plan which embraces every creature of all his vast domains, and this plan is an eternal purpose of boundless opportunity, unlimited progress, and endless life. (p. 365) This new gospel of the kingdom… presents a new and exalted goal of destiny, a supreme life purpose. (p. 1778)

Jesus, The religion of Jesus is the most dynamic influence ever to activate the human race. (p. 1091) What an awakening the world would experience if it could only see Jesus as he really lived on earth and know, firsthand, his life-giving teachings! (p. 2083)

Science, Science, guided by wisdom, may become man’s great social liberator. (p. 909) Mortal man is not an evolutionary accident. There is a precise system, a universal law, which determines the unfolding of the planetary life plan on the spheres of space. (p. 560)

Life after Death, God’s love is universal… He is “not willing that any should perish.” (p. 39) Your short sojourn on Urantia [Earth]…is only a single link, the very first in the long chain that is to stretch across universes and through the eternal ages. (p. 435) …Death is only the beginning of an endless career of adventure, an everlasting life of anticipation, an eternal voyage of discovery. (p. 159)

About the Author

The text of The Urantia Book was provided by one or more anonymous contributors working with a small staff which provided editorial and administrative support during the book's creation. The book bears no particular credentials (from a human viewpoint), relying instead on the power and beauty of the writing itself to persuade the reader of its authenticity.

Explore the power of myth as it flowered in the ancient Near East and the Classical World

In this third volume of The Masks of God — Joseph Campbell’s major work of comparative mythology — the preeminent mythologist looks at the pagan religions of Greece, Rome, and the Celts, as well as the Abrahamic religions — Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Exploring the West’s shift from female-centered to male-centered mythology, Campbell examines the distinguishing characteristics and the shared root concepts of these mythologies.The Masks of God is a four-volume study of world religion and myth that stands as one of Joseph Campbell’s masterworks. On completing it, he wrote:

Its main result for me has been the confirmation of a thought I have long and faithfully entertained: of the unity of the race of man, not only in its biology, but also in its spiritual history, which has everywhere unfolded in the manner of a single symphony, with its themes announced, developed, amplified and turned about, distorted, reasserted, and today, in a grand fortissimo of all sections sounding together, irresistibly advancing to some kind of mighty climax, out of which the next great movement will emerge.

About the Author

Joseph Campbell was interested in mythology since his childhood in New York, when he read books about American Indians, frequently visited the American Museum of Natural History, and was fascinated by the museum's collection of totem poles. He earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees at Columbia in 1925 and 1927 and went on to study medieval French and Sanskrit at the universities of Paris and Munich. After a period in California, where he encountered John Steinbeck and the biologist Ed Ricketts, he taught at the Canterbury School, then, in 1934, joined the literature department at Sarah Lawrence College, a post he retained for many years. During the 1940s and '50s, he helped Swami Nikhilananda to translate the Upanishads and The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. The many books by Professor Campbell include The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Myths to Live By, The Flight of the Wild Gander, and The Mythic Image. He edited The Portable Arabian Nights, The Portable Jung, and other works. He died in 1987.

“The Treasures of Darkness is the culmination of a lifetime’s work, an attempt to summarize and recreate the spiritual life of Ancient Mesopotamia. Jacobsen has succeeded brilliantly. . . . His vast experience shows through every page of this unique book, through the vivid, new translations resulting from years of careful research. Everyone interested in early Mesopotamia, whether specialist, student, or complete layman, should read this book. . . . It is, quite simply, authoritative, based on a vast experience of the ancient Mesopotamian mind, and very well written in the bargain.”―Brian M. Fagan, History

“Professor Jacobsen is an authority on Sumerian life and society, but he is above all a philologist of rare sensibility. The Treasures of Darkness is almost entirely devoted to textual evidence, the more gritty sources of archaeological knowledge being seldom mentioned. He introduces many new translations which are much finer than previous versions. . . . Simply to read this poetry and the author’s sympathetic commentary is a pleasure and a revelation. Professor Jacobsen accepts the premise that all religion springs from man’s experience of a power not of this world, a mysterious ‘Wholly Other.’ This numinous power cannot be described in terms of worldly experience but only in allusive ‘metaphors’ that serve as a means of communication in religious teaching and thought. . . . As a literary work combining sensibility, imagination and scholarship, this book is near perfection.”―Jacquetta Hawkes, The London Sunday Times

“A brilliant presentation of Mesopotamian religion from the inside, backed at every point by meticulous scholarship and persistent adherence to original texts. It will undoubtedly remain for a long time a classic in its field.”―Religious Studies Review

“A fascinating book. The general reader cannot fail to admire the translated passages of Sumerian poetry with which it abounds, especially those illustrating the Dumuzi-Inanna cycle of courtship, wedding and lament for the god’s untimely death. Many of these (though not all) are new even to the specialist and will repay close study.”―B.O.R. Gurney, Times Literary Supplement

Situated in an area roughly corresponding to present-day Iraq, Mesopotamia is one of the great, ancient civilizations, though it is still relatively unknown. Yet, over 7,000 years ago in Mesopotamia, the very first cities were created. This is the first book to reveal how life was lived in ten Mesopotamian cities: from Eridu, the Mesopotamian Eden, to that potent symbol of decadence, Babylon - the first true metropolis: multicultural, multi-ethnic, the last centre of a dying civilization.

About the Author

GWENDOLYN LEICK is an anthropologist and Assyriologist. She is the author of various publications on the Ancient Near East, including A Dictionary of Near Eastern Mythology and Sex & Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature. She also acts as a cultural tour guide in the Middle East, lecturing on history, archaeology and anthropology.

In conclusion, I have to express my thanks, first of all, to two friends by whose generous assistance my labour has been considerably lightened: to Miss E. I. M. Boyd, m.a., who has rendered me the greatest service in collecting material from books, and to the Rev. J. G. Morton, m.a., who has corrected the proofs, verified all the scriptural references, and compiled the Index. My last word of all must be an acknowledgment of profound and grateful obligation to Dr. Driver, the English Editor of the series, for his unfailing interest and encouragement during the progress of the work, and for numerous criticisms and suggestions, especially on points of philology and archae.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This anthology of Sumerian literature constitutes the most comprehensive collection ever published, and includes examples of most of the different types of composition written in the language, from narrative myths and lyrical hymns to proverbs and love poetry. The translations have benefited both from the work of many scholars and from our ever-increasing understanding of Sumerian. In addition to reflecting the advances made by modern scholarship, the translations are written in clear, accessible English. An extensive introduction discusses the literary qualities of the works, the people who created and copied them in ancient Iraq, and how the study of Sumerian literature has evolved over the last 150 years.

About the Author

Jeremy Black was University Lecturer in Akkadian and Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford. Graham Cunningham is Researcher at the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford. Eleanor Robson is University Lecturer in History of Science and Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. Gábor Zólyomi is Head of the Department of Assyriology and Hebrew Studies, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest.

This collection of literature attempts to compile many of the classic works that have stood the test of time and offer them at a reduced, affordable price, in an attractive volume so that everyone can enjoy them.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

This ambitious and well-researched study brings together for the first time translations of the ancient literature concerning the Sumerian god Enki, one of four gods and goddesses who comprised the highest level of the Sumerian pantheon. The very existence of these writings, which date from the Third Millenium B.C., was unknown until about 100 years ago, when their cuneiform script was deciphered. Since then, it has become apparent that Sumerian literature had a profound and enduring influence on both Biblical and classical Greek literature, and so on the literature of the western world as a whole. Kramer, one of the world's leading sumerologists, has prepared these translations from among the scores of works he has published over the last fifty years; John Maier provides a full interpretive framework that places the translations in their broader comparative cultural context. This rare collection will be of interest to students and scholars in a wide range of disciplines from Near Eastern and Biblical Studies to Mythology and Comparative Literature.

Stephen Herbert Langdon was an American-born British Assyriologist. Born to George Knowles and Abigail Hassinger Langdon in Monroe, Michigan, Langdon studied at the University of Michigan, participating in Phi Beta Kappa and earning an A. B. in 1898 and an A. M. in 1899. Following this he went to New York's Union Theological Seminary, graduating in 1903, and then on to Columbia University to obtain a Ph.D. in 1904. Langdon then became a fellow of Columbia in France (1904-1906), during which time he was ordained as a deacon of the Church of England (1905) in Paris. Subsequently, he moved to Oxford University in England (where he was a member of the Jesus College Senior Common Room though not a Fellow), becoming a Shillito reader in Assyriology in 1908, a British citizen in 1913, and after the retirement of Archibald Sayce, a Professor of Assyriology in 1919. However, in 1916, when World War I had diminished the size of his classes in England, he spent some time at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, serving as the curator of its Babylonian section.

This is a reproduction of a book believed to be published in 1916. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.

A selection and abridgment of Benjamin Foster's comprehensive, two-volume work on Babylonian and Assyrian literature, Before the Muses. This paperback edition is well-suited for college courses in Biblical Studies, Classical Studies, Religious Thought, Mythology, or Comparative Literature. Among the many compositions included are: Epic of Creation; Story of the Flood; When Ishtar Went to the Netherworld; How Nergal Became King of the Netherworld; How Adapa Lost Immortality; Etana; the King without an Heir; Anzu the Bird Who Stole Destiny; How Erra Wrecked the World; Legends of Sargon of Akkad; Legend of Naram-Sin; Tukulti-Ninurta Epic; Nebuchadnezzar and Marduk; Tiglath-Pileser and the Beasts; The King of Justice; Letters from Gods; Marduk Prophecy; Oracles to Assyrian Kings; Prayers to the Gods; Coronation Prayer for Assyrian Kings; Sargon II for His New City; Assurbanipal Pious Scholar; Nebuchadnezzar II for His Public Works; Diviners' Prayers; Dialogue between a Man and His God; Poem of the Righteous Sufferer; A Sufferer's Salvation; The Babylonian Theodicy; Who Has Not Sinned?; The Piteous Sufferer; Elegy for a Woman Dead in Childbirth; Love Charms; Love Lyrics; Ishtar at the Tavern; The Faithful Lover; At the Cleaners; The Poor Man of Nippur; Why Do You Curse Me?; The Jester; The Gilgamesh Letter; The Dialogue of Pessimism; Land for the Birds; Counsels of Wisdom.

The author of such acclaimed books as Hero With a Thousand Faces and The Power of Myth discusses the primitive roots of mythology, examining them in light of the most recent discoveries in archaeology, anthropology, and psychology.

About the Author

Joseph Campbell was interested in mythology since his childhood in New York, when he read books about American Indians, frequently visited the American Museum of Natural History, and was fascinated by the museum's collection of totem poles. He earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees at Columbia in 1925 and 1927 and went on to study medieval French and Sanskrit at the universities of Paris and Munich. After a period in California, where he encountered John Steinbeck and the biologist Ed Ricketts, he taught at the Canterbury School, then, in 1934, joined the literature department at Sarah Lawrence College, a post he retained for many years. During the 1940s and '50s, he helped Swami Nikhilananda to translate the Upanishads and The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. The many books by Professor Campbell include The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Myths to Live By, The Flight of the Wild Gander, and The Mythic Image. He edited The Portable Arabian Nights, The Portable Jung, and other works. He died in 1987.

The Dictionary of Ancient Near Eastern Mythology covers sources from Mesopotamia, Syro-Palestine and Anatolia, from around 2800 to 300 BC. It contains entries on gods and goddesses, giving evidence of their worship in temples, describing their 'character', as documented by the texts, and defining their roles within the body of mythological narratives; synoptic entries on myths, giving the place of origin of main texts and a brief history of their transmission through the ages; and entries explaining the use of specialist terminology, for such things as categories of Sumerian texts or types of mythological figures.

About the Author

Gwendolyn Leick is Lecturer at the University of Wales, College of Cardiff.

Ancient Mesopotamia was a rich, varied and highly complex culture whose achievements included the invention of writing and the development of sophisticated urban society. This book offers an introductory guide to the beliefs and customs of the ancient Mesopotamians, as revealed in their art and their writings between about 3000 B.C. and the advent of the Christian era. Gods, goddesses, demons, monsters, magic, myths, religious symbolism, ritual, and the spiritual world are all discussed in alphabetical entries ranging from short accounts to extended essays. Names are given in both their Sumerian and Akkadian forms, and all entries are fully cross-referenced. A useful introduction provides historical and geographical background and describes the sources of our knowledge about the religion, mythology and magic of "the cradle of civilisation".

The ancient civilization of Mesopotamia thrived between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates over 4,000 years ago. The myths collected here, originally written in cuneiform on clay tablets, include parallels with the biblical stories of the Creation and the Flood, and the famous Epic of Gilgamesh, the tale of a man of great strength, whose heroic quest for immortality is dashed through one moment of weakness.

Recent developments in Akkadian grammar and lexicography mean that this new translation--complete with notes, a glossary of deities, place-names, and key terms, and illustrations of the mythical monsters featured in the text--will replace all other versions.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

About the Author

Stephanie Dalley is Shillito Fellow in Assyriology at the Oriental Institute, Oxford and a Senior Research Fellow, Somerville College, Oxford.

Students, professors and general readers alike have relied upon The Oxford Annotated Bible for essential scholarship and guidance to the world of the Bible for nearly four decades. Now a new editorial board and team of contributors have completely updated this classic work. The result is a volume which maintains and extends the excellence the Annotated's users have come to expect, bringing new insights, information, and approaches to bear upon the understanding of the text of the Bible.

The new edition includes a full index to all of the study material (not just to the annotations), and one that is keyed to page numbers, not to citations. And, to make certain points in the text clearer for the reader, there are approximately 40 in-text, line drawing maps and diagrams.

With the best of the Annotated's traditional strengths, and the augmentation of new information and new approaches represented in current scholarship, the Third Edition will serve as the reader's and student's constant resource for a new century.

About the Author

Michael Coogan is Professor of Religious Studies at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts, and director of publications for the Harvard Semitic Museum. Carol Newsom is at Candler School of Theology, Atlanta, Georgia.

The Sumerians, the pragmatic and gifted people who preceded the Semites in the land first known as Sumer and later as Babylonia, created what was probably the first high civilization in the history of man, spanning the fifth to the second millenniums B.C. This book is an unparalleled compendium of what is known about them.

Professor Kramer communicates his enthusiasm for his subject as he outlines the history of the Sumerian civilization and describes their cities, religion, literature, education, scientific achievements, social structure, and psychology. Finally, he considers the legacy of Sumer to the ancient and modern world.

"There are few scholars in the world qualified to write such a book, and certainly Kramer is one of them. . . . One of the most valuable features of this book is the quantity of texts and fragments which are published for the first time in a form available to the general reader. For the layman the book provides a readable and up-to-date introduction to a most fascinating culture. For the specialist it presents a synthesis with which he may not agree but from which he will nonetheless derive stimulation."—American Journal of Archaeology

"An uncontested authority on the civilization of Sumer, Professor Kramer writes with grace and urbanity."—Library Journal

The eminent Assyriologist Thorkild Jacobsen, author of Treasures of Darkness, here presents translations of ancient Sumerian poems written near the end of the third millennium b.c.e., including a number of compositions that have never before been published in translation. The themes developed in the poems—quite possibly the earliest poems extant—are those that have fascinated humanity since the time people first began to spin stories: the longings of young lovers; courage in battle; joy at the birth of a child; the pleasures of drink and song.

About the Author

The late Thorkild Jacobsen was professor of Assyriology emeritus at Harvard University.

N. K. Sandars's landmark translation of one of the first and greatest works of Western literature

Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, and his companion Enkidu are the only heroes to have survived from the ancient literature of Babylon, immortalized in this epic poem that dates back to the third millennium BC. Together they journey to the Spring of Youth, defeat the Bull of Heaven and slay the monster Humbaba. When Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh’s grief and fear of death are such that they lead him to undertake a quest for eternal life. A timeless tale of morality, tragedy and pure adventure, The Epic of Gilgamesh is a landmark literary exploration of man’s search for immortality.

N. K. Sandars’s lucid, accessible translation is prefaced by a detailed introduction that examines the narrative and historical context of the work. In addition, there is a glossary of names and a map of the Ancient Orient.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Read an invaluable collection of ancient Mesopotamian texts in The Chaldean Account of Genesis: Containing the Description of the Creation by George Smith. Smith pioneered the study of Assyriology, which investigates the history and culture of Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq). Assyriology encompasses Biblically significant locations such as Assyria, Babylonia and Sumer. During his studies in Assyria, Smith discovered the Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest known work of literature, which is an account of the Great Flood.

The Chaldean Account of Genesis: Containing the Description of the Creation collects translations of all of the major tablets that Smith discovered, including the story of Gilgamesh. He translates the story of the Creation as it appeared in ancient texts, as well as the Tower of Babel and the Destruction of Sodom. In addition to the texts that are parallel to stories from the Christian Bible, Smith gathered tablets which tell the history, culture and religion of ancient Mesopotamian cultures. Smith discovered a tablet with the story of Ishtar, goddess of sexuality and warfare, who descended to the Underworld. He also tells the story of the Babylonian god Zu, which was then an obscure religious story to the Babylonian and Assyrians.

The text also includes illustrations of significant events. Some of the texts are incomplete due to the nature of the ancient tablets, many of which are merely fragments. Still, because of the meticulous work of Smith and his contemporaries, readers can learn about history that had previously been lost. The Chaldean Account of Genesis: Containing the Description of the Creation is a must-read.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Paperback: 412 pagesPublisher: Forgotten Books (April 19, 2018)

The Hibbert Lectures 1887: Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion as Illustrated by the Religion of the Ancient Babylonians

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

In Slaying the Dragon: Mythmaking in the Biblical Tradition, Bernard Batto argues that biblical authors, like other ancient Near East authors, used mythic traditions in composing their works. Batto joins massive evidence with masterful argument to show that myth actually lies at the heart of the theological enterprise of the biblical authors. Slaying the Dragon is sure to provoke dicussion on the theological relevance of myth in the biblical tradition.

About the Author

Bernard F. Batto is Professor of Religious Studies at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana.

This volume collects the best of recent research and classic essays on the Primeval History, including several articles that have not appeared heretofore in English. The articles provide students and scholars with easy access to significant scholarship illuminating both the world outside the text and the world within the text.

The Word Biblical Commentary delivers the best in biblical scholarship, from the leading scholars of our day who share a commitment to Scripture as divine revelation. This series emphasizes a thorough analysis of textual, linguistic, structural, and theological evidence. The result is judicious and balanced insight into the meanings of the text in the framework of biblical theology. These widely acclaimed commentaries serve as exceptional resources for the professional theologian and instructor, the seminary or university student, the working minister, and everyone concerned with building theological understanding from a solid base of biblical scholarship.

Pericope Bibliography—a helpful resource containing the most important works that pertain to each particular pericope.

Translation—the author’s own translation of the biblical text, reflecting the end result of exegesis and attending to Hebrew and Greek idiomatic usage of words, phrases, and tenses, yet in reasonably good English.

Notes—the author’s notes to the translation that address any textual variants, grammatical forms, syntactical constructions, basic meanings of words, and problems of translation.

Form/Structure/Setting—a discussion of redaction, genre, sources, and tradition as they concern the origin of the pericope, its canonical form, and its relation to the biblical and extra-biblical contexts in order to illuminate the structure and character of the pericope. Rhetorical or compositional features important to understanding the passage are also introduced here.

Comment—verse-by-verse interpretation of the text and dialogue with other interpreters, engaging with current opinion and scholarly research.

Explanation—brings together all the results of the discussion in previous sections to expose the meaning and intention of the text at several levels: (1) within the context of the book itself; (2) its meaning in the OT or NT; (3) its place in the entire canon; (4) theological relevance to broader OT or NT issues.

General Bibliography—occurring at the end of each volume, this extensive bibliography contains all sources used anywhere in the commentary.

About the Author

Gordon J. Wenham (PhD, University of London) is tutor in Old Testament at Trinity College, Bristol, England, and professor emeritus of Old Testament at the University of Gloucestershire. He is the author or editor of numerous books, including Story as Torah and commentaries on Genesis, Leviticus, and Numbers.

From the religious historian whose The Gnostic Gospels won both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award comes a dramatic interpretation of Satan and his role on the Christian tradition. With magisterial learning and the elan of a born storyteller, Pagels turns Satan's story into an audacious exploration of Christianity's shadow side, in which the gospel of love gives way to irrational hatreds that continue to haunt Christians and non-Christians alike.

About the Author

Pagels, whose Gnostic Gospels (LJ 1/15/79) was a best seller and a major award winner, here examines the New Testament tendency to associate the Devil with Jews resistant to the teachings of Christianity. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Adam, Prometheus, and Faust--their stories were central to the formation of Western consciousness and continue to be timely cautionary tales in an age driven by information and technology. Here Theodore Ziolkowski explores how each myth represents a response on the part of ancient Hebrew, ancient Greek, and sixteenth-century Christian culture to the problem of knowledge, particularly humankind's powerful, perennial, and sometimes unethical desire for it. This book exposes for the first time the similarities underlying these myths as well as their origins in earlier trickster legends, and considers when and why they emerged in their respective societies. It then examines the variations through which the themes have been adapted by modern writers to express their own awareness of the sin of knowledge.

Each myth is shown to capture the anxiety of a society when faced with new knowledge that challenges traditional values. Ziolkowski's examples of recent appropriations of the myths are especially provocative. From Voltaire to the present, the Fall of Adam has provided an image for the emergence from childhood innocence into the consciousness of maturity. Prometheus, as the challenger of authority and the initiator of technological evil, yielded an ambivalent model for the socialist imagination of the German Democratic Republic. And finally, an America unsettled by its responsibility for the atomic bomb, and worrying that in its postwar prosperity it had betrayed its values, recognized in Faust the disturbing image of its soul.

“The author of this book is one of the leading Assyriologists of our time, and his mastery of his subject is evident throughout.” ―Arnold Toynbee, The Observer

M. Contenau has chosen to survey the period between 700 and 530 B. C. out of the whole 2600 years of Mesopotamian civilization for two reasons: it is the most representative and more is known about it than any other time in the history of this culture. During these years the Near East was dominated first by the Assyrians and then by the Babylonians, who were to be subdued by the Persians. The everyday life of these people has been reconstructed from a wealth of evidence, both written records of many kinds preserved on clay tablets and the evidence of monuments excavated at such sites as Khorsabad and Nineveh, Nimrud and Asher, Babylon and Susa. “Perhaps the main impression. . .that we carry away from this survey is that the life of an inhabitant of Babylonia in about 600 B. C. must have closely resembled that of any inhabitant of the Orient up to about fifty years ago,” writes M. Contenau. This account of Mesopotamian life is, therefore, pertinent not only to an understanding of the age of Assyria and Babylonia but also to all the civilizations that have succeeded it in that part of the world.

Our ancestors, the Mesopotamians, invented writing and with it a new way of looking at the world. In this collection of essays, the French scholar Jean Bottero attempts to go back to the moment which marks the very beginning of history.
To give the reader some sense of how Mesopotamian civilization has been mediated and interpreted in its transmission through time, Bottero begins with an account of Assyriology, the discipline devoted to the ancient culture. This transmission, compounded with countless discoveries, would not have been possible without the surprising decipherment of the cuneiform writing system. Bottero also focuses on divination in the ancient world, contending that certain modes of worship in Mesopotamia, in their application of causality and proof, prefigure the "scientific mind."

This unique book surveys within the various literary genres the parallels between the Bible and the literature of the ancient Near East. Each section begins with a survey of the available ancient literature, continues with a discussion of the literature, and concludes with a discussion of cases of alleged borrowing. The genres covered are - cosmology - laws - historical literature - wisdom literature - apocalyptic literature - personal archives and epics - covenants and treaties - hymns, prayers, and incantations - prophetic literature --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

John H. Walton (PhD, Hebrew Union College) is professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College Graduate School. He is the author or coauthor of several books, including Chronological and Background Charts of the Old Testament; Ancient Israelite Literature in Its Cultural Context; Covenant: God's Purpose, God's Plan; The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament; and A Survey of the Old Testament. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Stephen Herbert Langdon was an American-born British Assyriologist. Born to George Knowles and Abigail Hassinger Langdon in Monroe, Michigan, Langdon studied at the University of Michigan, participating in Phi Beta Kappa and earning an A. B. in 1898 and an A. M. in 1899. Following this he went to New York's Union Theological Seminary, graduating in 1903, and then on to Columbia University to obtain a Ph.D. in 1904. Langdon then became a fellow of Columbia in France (1904-1906), during which time he was ordained as a deacon of the Church of England (1905) in Paris. Subsequently, he moved to Oxford University in England (where he was a member of the Jesus College Senior Common Room though not a Fellow), becoming a Shillito reader in Assyriology in 1908, a British citizen in 1913, and after the retirement of Archibald Sayce, a Professor of Assyriology in 1919. However, in 1916, when World War I had diminished the size of his classes in England, he spent some time at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, serving as the curator of its Babylonian section.

This is a reproduction of a book believed to be published in 1916. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.

Here is a complete translation of all the published cuneiform tablets of the various Babylonian creation stories, of both the Semitic Babylonian and the Sumerian material. Each creation account is preceded by a brief introduction dealing with the age and provenance of the tablets, the aim and purpose of the story, etc. Also included is a translation and discussion of two Babylonian creation versions written in Greek. The final chapter presents a detailed examination of the Babylonian creation accounts in their relation to our Old Testament literature.

Excerpt from Tammuz and Ishtar: A Monograph Upon Babylonian Religion and Theology, Containing Extensive Extracts From the Tammuz Liturgies and All of the Arbela Oracles

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Paperback: 214 pagesPublisher: Forgotten Books (April 19, 2018)

The Origin Of Biblical Traditions Hebrew Legends In Babylonia And Israel Lectures On Biblical Archaeology

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

In every culture, in every epoch, human beings have yearned for heaven -- the dwelling place of the gods, mirror of our hopes and desires. Now, in The Quest for Paradise, renowned scholar John Ashton and his colleague Tom Whyte offer an intriguing look at how we have thought of and envisioned heaven and the afterlife, from the ancient cultures of Egypt, Greece, and Rome, to the Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims, as well as the indigenous peoples of the Americas, Australia, and Africa.

Lavishly illustrated with extensive depictions of heaven in art from around the world, and drawing on scriptures, myths, epics, poems, novels, philosophy, and other writings from many cultures, The Quest for Paradise illuminates the vast spectrum of beliefs about the world beyond. The book also explores the concept of utopia, or paradise on earth, from the perspective of such diverse thinkers as H.G. Wells, D.H. Lawrence, Margaret Mead, and Aldous Huxley.

Ashton and Whyte present a fascinating array of ancient and modern views of heaven. Included are extraordinary inhabitants and geographical features, representing scenes from works such as The Odyssey, the Bible, the Quran, and the Sukhavativyuha Sutras, and from the works of writers such as Hesiod, Ovid, Virgil, Dante, Milton, and Yeats, highlighting both the diversity and the universality of reflection on heaven.

"This is an admirable translation, a great masterpiece of universal literature."--Mircea Eliade"A splendid mutual accomplishment and a great gift ot mythology...."Inanna "is a book to be cherished."--P.L. Travers"In the myth of Inanna, Wolkstein and Kramer give us back the totality of woman, the ruler-wife-lover-redeemer, whom all worshiped and from whom all life flowed. It is a thrilling rediscovery."--Olivier Bernier"Wolkstein has been able to convey in English the rich metaphor, the erotic fullness, and the ritual pacing of these ancient stories....Taken together with the illustrations, historical discussions, and textual commentaries, this book is worth a tower of scholarly tomes....Such a feat is remarkable and rare."--Barre Toelken, Director of Folklore and Ethnic Studies, University of Oregon"I felt shivers of recognition reading these ancient lines that proclaim Inanna's discovery of her prowess....Kramer and Wolkstein make us love their awesome goddess whose stormy complexities have been concealed in cuneiform tablets for thousands of years."--Nor Hall

About the Author

Diane Wolkstein has been teaching, performing, and writing for over thirty-five years. She is the author of numerous award-winning books of folklore, including The Magic Orange Tree, and Other Haitian Folktales and Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer. Known for her meticulous research as well as her great range as a performer, Ms. Wolkstein traveled to Australia three times while preparing this story. She gives workshops on storytelling worldwide and lives in New York City.

In Her Own Words...

"I love stories. They give me strength, Inspiration, courage, and great delight. For thirty years I've told stories at the statue of Hans Christian Andersen in Central Park. I love watching the eyes of my audience light up as they enter stories. Stories let us explore the farthest places in the universe and the deepest recesses of the human heart. They present possibilities. They let us try out different emotions and characters. Stories are treasures which last forever.

"I also enjoy gardening, dancing, swimming, painting, and creating stories with music. My daughter, Rachel Zucker, is a poet, photographer, and the mother of a little boy named Moses."

Cuneiform records made some three thousand years ago are the basis for this essay on the ideas of death and the afterlife and the story of the flood which were current among the ancient peoples of the Tigro-Euphrates Valley. With the same careful scholarship shown in his previous volume, The Babylonian Genesis, Heidel interprets the famous Gilgamesh Epic and other related Babylonian and Assyrian documents. He compares them with corresponding portions of the Old Testament in order to determine the inherent historical relationship of Hebrew and Mesopotamian ideas.

About the Author

Alexander Heidel was at the time of his death in 1955 on the research staff of the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago.

This collection explores the spread of culture through literacy from Mesopotamia into Egypt, Palestine and Greece after a system of writing was developed. By gathering evidence from a vast range of material and literary sources from 3000 BC onwards, threads of influence and continuity are traced into the Middle Ages. The effect of recent rediscovery on European art is also explored.

When one hears the words "archaeology" or "archaeologist," often what comes to mind is an image of a romantic figure: Indiana Jones exploring exotic places in search of treasure and adventure. Indeed, novels, movies, and many popular accounts of archaeological discoveries have made this concept widespread. Tales of abandoned cities, ruined temples, primeval monuments, or mysterious ancient tombs tend to kindle the urge for adventure, exploration, or treasure hunting that seems to lie beneath the surface of even the most timid and conventional individuals. Today, however, archaeologists seek knowledge rather than objects that are intrinsically valuable. Their ultimate goal is to sweep aside the mists in which time has enveloped the past, helping us to understand vanished peoples and cultures.

In Uncovering the Past, William H. Stiebing, Jr. offers an absorbing nontechnical history of archaeology, tracing the study of ancient material culture from its beginnings in the Renaissance through its development into the sophisticated modern discipline we know today. The first study to focus on archaeology as a discipline, Stiebing has organized this concise history into the four stages of archaeological development. The first two stages (1450-1860 and 1860-1925), known as the "heroic age," focus on the exploits of colorful, dynamic excavators who have made their mark on history and our imaginations. We read accounts of Giovanni Belzoni and the removal of the seven-ton colossus of Ramesses II, which was dragged by wooden platform and transported by boat from Egypt to London; we witness the clergyman John Peters's skirmish with Arab tribesmen, who surrounded his excavation site and finally pillaged and burned his camp; and Heinrich Schliemann's quest to prove the authenticity of Homer's Iliad by searching for ancient Troy along the Turkish coast. And we watch as archaeology comes of age as an academic discipline, employing stratigraphical excavation techniques, typographical sequence dating, and stratigraphically based pottery chronology--laying the foundation for universal archaeological activity. The third phase (1925-1960) marked the era of "Modern Archaeology," a time when, using the now generally accepted stratigraphical method of excavation, scholars were able to synthesize data to define individual cultures and trace their development through time. This period saw a greater use of scientific instruments and procedures to locate, date, and interpret remains, such as aerial photography, metal detectors, and most importantly, carbon-14 dating and tree-ring chronology. Lastly, Stiebing discusses the fourth phase of development (1960-present) which introduced a greater desire and need for a more complete understanding of ancient cultures, including their ecology, and attempts to explain why certain cultural phenomena occurred. He goes on to examine the greater emphasis on a cultural revolutionary approach, coupled with technological advances in robotics and computers over the last decade and a half and their commonplace role in modern archaeology.

With over eighty photographs, illustrations, and maps, this vivid history is an outstanding introduction to the intriguing field of archaeology, chronicling the development of this former pastime of dilettantes into a rigorous science.

About the Author

William H. Stiebing, Jr. is Professor of History at the University of New Orleans and author of the critically acclaimed Out of the Desert?.

Against the Galilaeans, meaning Christians, was a Greek polemical essay written by the Roman Emperor Flavius Claudius Julianus, commonly known as Julian the Apostate, during his short reign (361–363). Despite having been originally written in Greek, it is better known under its Latin name, probably due to its extensive reference in the polemical response Contra Julianum by Cyril of Alexandria. As emperor, Julian had tried to stop the growing influence of Christianity in the Roman Empire, and had encouraged support for the original pagan imperial cults and ethnic religions of the Empire. In this essay Julian's described what he considered to be the mistakes and dangers of the Christian faith, and he attempted to throw an unflattering light on ongoing disputes inside the Christian Church. Julian portrayed Christians as apostates from Judaism, which the Emperor considered to be a very old and established religion that should be fully accepted. After Julian's death in battle in 363, the essay was anathematized, and even the text was lost. We only know of Julian's arguments second-hand, through texts written by Christian authors who sought to refute Julian. Julian first criticizes the practice of the Galileans of denying the existence of the gods, and their practice, taken from the Greeks, of being lazy and superstitious. Julian claims that men inherently know of the existence of God without being taught of it and that all men have an inherent belief that the gods reside in the heavens and observe what occurs in the world. Further, all men, from looking at the stable nature of the heavenly bodies, have come to believe that the gods are eternal and unchanging. Julian goes on to discuss the creation myths of the Greeks and the Jews, citing the account of the Book of Genesis. He ridicules the idea of literally interpreting the Jewish account, claiming that it is not only logically impossible, he asks how the serpent was able to speak a human language but that is also blasphemous and insulting to God. A true God, he says, would not have withheld the knowledge of good and evil from men or have been jealous of men eating from the tree of life and living forever. Indeed, this behavior shows God to be evil and the serpent, giving man the enormously valuable gift of differentiating good and evil, to be good. Therefore, it must have a deeper meaning.

The works of many early critics of the Christian church were burned by ruling emperors or otherwise destroyed in the second and third centuries, but the writings of the Greek pagan philosopher, Celsus, have survived indirectly through his eloquent opponent Origen of Alexandria. In his apologetical treatise, Contra Celsum, Origen argues against the ideas set forth by Celsus and quotes from Celsus' The True Doctrine at length. Through this treatise, Celsus has come to represent the detached pagan voice of the ages. In this translation, Professor Hoffmann has, for the first time, painstakingly reconstructed the main order of the philosopher's argument. Celsus' discourse shows him to be an eclectic philosopher--a dabbler in various schools of thought, including Platonism and Stoicism, and a student of the history and religious customs of many nations. Hoffman supplements this definitive translation with an informative introduction, summarizing Celsus' premises and placing the identity of Celsus in its historical context.

Here, David Leeming offers the first comprehensive narrative study of the mythology of the Middle East. Leeming offers an in-depth discussion of the mythology of the region, covering individual pantheons, cosmic myths, mythic heroes, and much more. He ranges from prehistoric figures such as the Mother Goddess of Çatal Hüyük to Mesopotamian gods such as Marduk and mythic heroes such as Gilgamesh, to the pantheon of Egyptian mythology, including the falcon-headed sky-sun god Horus and jackal-headed Anubis. The author also offers an illuminating exploration of the mythology of the three great monotheistic religions of the region: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In a provocative Epilogue, Leeming notes that fundamentalists in the area's three religions all see their way as the only way, forgetting that myths represent truths that are spiritual and philosophical--not historical events that can be used to justify acts of violence. With key maps, illustrations, bibliography, and index, Jealous Gods and Chosen People provides an inclusive, authoritative, and captivating account of a mythology that remains a potent--and often destructive--force in the world today.

About the Author

David Leeming is Emeritus Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Connecticut. His many books include Myths, Legends, and Folktales of America, with Jake Page, A Dictionary of Asian Mythology and Myth: A Biography of Belief. He lives in Riverdale, New York.

An ancient inscription identified some of the ruins at el Amarna as "The Place of the Letters of the Pharaoh." Discovered there, circa 1887, were nearly four hundred cuneiform tablets containing correspondence of the Egyptian court with rulers of neighboring states in the mid-fourteenth century B.C. Previous translations of these letters were both incomplete and reflected an imperfect understanding of the Babylonian dialects in which they were written. William Moran devoted a lifetime of study to the Amarna letters to prepare this authoritative English translation.
The letters provide a vivid record of high-level diplomatic exchanges that, by modern standards, are often less than diplomatic. An Assyrian ruler complains that the Egyptian king's latest gift of gold was not even sufficient to pay the cost of the messengers who brought it. The king of Babylon refuses to give his daughter in marriage to the pharaoh without first having proof that the king's sister―already one of the pharaoh's many wives―is still alive and well. The king of Karaduniyash complains that the Egyptian court has "detained" his messenger―for the past six years. And Egyptian vassal Rib-Hadda, writing from the besieged port of Byblos, repeatedly demands military assistance for his city or, failing that, an Egyptian ship to permit his own escape.

This magnificent collection of articles on OT literature, history, religion and culture comprises the following studies: A.L. Merrill and J.R. Spencer, 'The Uppsala School' of Biblical Studies. W. Boyd Barrick, G.W. Ahlström in Profile. B. Glazier-McDonald, G.W. Ahlström: A Bibliography. W. Boyd Barrick and J.R. Spencer, Parentheses in a Snowstorm: G.W. Ahlström and the Study of Ancient Palestine. P.A.H. de Boer, Psalm 81.6a: Observations on Translation and Meaning of One Hebrew Line. N.C. Habel, The Role of Elihu in the Design of the Book of Job. C.E. L'Heureux, The Redactional History of Isaiah 5.1-10.4. D. Pardee, The Semantic Parallelism of Psalm 89. J. Van Seters, Joshua 24 and the Problem of Tradition in the Old Testament. M. Haran, The Shining of Moses' Face: A Case in Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Iconography. A.S. Kapelrud, The Prophets and the Covenant. M. Ottosson, The Prophet Elijah's Visit to Zarephath. B. Otzen, Heavenly Visions in Early Judaism: Origin and Function. A.W. Sjöberg, Eve and the Chameleon. G. Widengren, Yahweh's Gathering of the Dispersed. P.R. Ackroyd, The Biblical Interpretation of the Reigns of Ahaz and Hezekiah. S. Herrmann, King David's State. S.A. Kaufman, A Reconstruction of the Social Welfare Systems of Ancient Israel. T.W. Overholt, Thoughts on the Use of Charisma in Old Testament Studies. J.M. Sasson, The Biographic Mode in Hebrew Historiography.

Scholarly proposals are presented for the pre-biblical origin in Mesopotamian myths of the Garden of Eden story. Some Liberal PhD scholars (1854-2010) embracing an Anthropological viewpoint have proposed that the Hebrews have recast earlier motifs appearing in Mesopotamian myths. Eden's garden is understood to be a recast of the gods' city-gardens in the Sumerian Edin, the floodplain of Lower Mesopotamia. It is understood that the Hebrews in the book of Genesis are refuting the Mesopotamian account of why Man was created and his relationship with his Creators (the gods and goddesses). They deny that Man is a sinner and rebel because he was made in the image of gods and goddesses who were themselves sinners and rebels, who made man to be their agricultural slave to grow and harvest their food and feed it to them in temple sacrifices thereby ending the need of the gods to toil for their food in the city-gardens of Edin in ancient Sumer.

Paperback: 184 pagesPublisher: Lulu.com (November 24, 2010)

Genesis'"THE FALL" OF MAN

and its pre-biblicalorigins in Mesopotamian Myths

It is argued that the Hebrews, employing "new twists" (inversions) denied, challenged and repudiated the Mesopotamian understanding that man's misfortunes were attributed to the unrighteous self-serving outrageous despicable behavior of the gods; man was an innocent victim of the capricious, immoral, gods.

The Hebrews claimed man's misfortunes are a consequence of his own sinful ways, thereby shifting blame from God to Man (God is righteous and is not to be blamed, Man is a rebel and sinner and is to blame).

There is _no_ fall from moral purity for primeval man in the Mesopotamian myths because man has been made in the image of the gods who are portrayed as immoral, untrustworthy, conniving, treacherous, unrighteous, and self-serving, putting their interests first above the welfare of man whom they have created to be their slave to thereby obtain for themselves an eternal sabbath-rest from earthly toil (man will provide life's necessities for the gods: food, shelter and clothing). Man (Adapa) is portrayed as noble, scrupulously obedient to his god; Man's (Adapa's) trust is cynically betrayed (he being lied to) by his god (Ea) who acts out of selfish self-interest, not wanting to lose man as a slave.

I understand that Genesis is _denying or refuting_ the Mesopotamian myths' explanation of how and why man came to made, what his purpose on earth is, and why his demise was sought in a flood. This "_denial_" is for me accomplished by taking motifs from a variety of contradicting myths and giving them "new twists" by changing the names of the characters, the locations, and sequences of events. It is my perception that the Hebrews are deliberately CHANGING _or_ RECASTING the earlier myths and their motifs inorder to REFUTE and DENY THEM, hence the "reason why" there are _no_ individuals called Adam, Eve, the Serpent, Yahweh, Noah, Shem, Japheth and Ham appearing in _any_ of the Mesopotamian pre-biblical myths.

I do _not_ understand that the Hebrews are "copying" the Mesopotamian myths, they are _recasting various motifs and concepts within them_ in order to _refute and deny them_ regarding why, when, where and how man came to be made, placed in a god's garden, denied immortality and his destruction sought in a Flood. Or, to put it another way, Genesis themes are simply "variations and transformations of earlier themes."

The Mesopotamians had no account of a primal man and woman "falling from a state of innocence" via an illegal acquisition of knowledge by eating of a forbidden fruit. There was _no_ "fall from innocence" because man was made in the image of the gods, some of whom, are portrayed as slaying each other in various conflicts (shedding each other's blood), murdering their fathers and mothers, engaging in incest with their own children, being unfaithful to their spouses by having extramarital sex with others and even propositioning humans for illicit sex too, as well as being sponsors or patrons of cultic acts of prostitution with male and female prostitutes in temples. In other words all the nefarious activities of humankind were, _before man's creation_ , engaged in by the gods, so there could be _no_ "fall from innocence" for primal man and woman for man cannot be "better" than his _immoral_creators_ in whose image he was made! That is to say in Mesopotamian myth man's immorality is because he was made in the image of immoral gods and goddesses. For all the sordid details please click here.

Although the Mesopotamian myths do _not_ record "a fall from moral innocence by man into sin resulting in death for all of mankind" they do preserve in a _somewhat different form_ notions of a "fall" of sorts involving naive innocence to some degree on man's part. I understand that the Hebrews have reworked these Mesopotamian motifs (naive innocence and a "fall") and recast them into a new story. Two Mesopotamian accounts make mention of a "fall" of sorts for a naive, innocent, trusting man: (1) Adapa of the Adapa and the Southwind myth and (2) Enkidu of the Epic of Gilgamesh. I understand that motifs originally associated with these two fictional characters (their naive innocence and "fall") were fused together, recast, and ascribed to Adam and Eve. Both Adapa and Enkidu die, but it is clear from the storylines that they were "victims" of the gods and they did _not_ deserve to die. The Hebrews have inverted the storylines: man is _not_ a victim of the gods, he deserves to die for his actions, blame for death is shifted from God to man. The Mesopotamian myths do acknowledge man is a sinner, a rebel, and an untrustworthy liar at times but the reasons given for this are that man was created this way by the gods. Man is then, a victim, having had these attitudes implanted within his soul from the moment of creation by the gods (who also have the same attitudes).

Below, my attempted _alignment_ of motifs in Genesis' Eden myth about Adam's "Fall" (Ge 3:1-24) and its principal characters, Yahweh, the Serpent, Adam, Eve, and the Cherubim, with similar motifs appearing in the Adapa and the Southwind myth. The Southwind myth was a Mesopotamian explanation for how, once upon a time, man in the form of Adapa had a chance to obtain immortality by consuming "bread and water of life" but by failing to do so, he condemned the rest of mankind to a lifetime of disease and death for all eternity. Adapa refused to consume the "bread and water of life" offered him by Anu in his heavenly abode because his god whom he served on the earth, Ea (Sumerian Enki) had warned him NOT to eat the "bread of death" or "drink the water of death" for he would surely die. Technically speaking Ea didn't tell Adapa not to eat the "bread of life"or not to drink the "water of life," it was "bread of death" and "water of death" that he wasn't to consume. An apparently "confused" and "beguiled" Adapa thought the "bread of life" was the "bread of death."

For the Mesopotamians then, man lost out on a chance to obtain immortality because the god who had created him and who he served, Ea (Enki) of Eridu in Sumer did not want him to obtain immortality. Anu (Sumerian An) on the otherhand was willing to let Adapa become immortal and like a god. Ea had successfully thwarted Anu's offer. So the Mesopotamians did not envison man's lost chance at immortality as occurring because he DISOBEYED his god, but because he OBEYED his god (Ea/Enki). The Hebrews are then, in the book of Genesis refuting and denying the Mesopotamian presentation of how man came to looseout on a chance to obtain immortality.

The Adapa and the Southwind myth also deals with man's obtaining of forbidden knowledge reserved for the gods. Genesis presents Adam and Eve obtaining forbidden knowledge. Ea apparently against Anu's wishes, has given Adapa the knowledge of powerful spells and incantations to overpower the lesser gods, in this case Adapa via a curse breaks the wing of the southwind stopping breezes. Anu summons Adapa to his heavenly abode wanting to know where he has obtained this knowledge. Realizing Adapa has godly knowledge Anu resolves he might as well make the human into a full-fledged god by bestowing immortality on him by allowing him to consume the bread and water of life. In Genesis man is presented as ILLEGALLY OBTAINING KNOWLEDGE, whereas the Mesopotamians understand that the ILLEGAL KNOWLEDGE was given by Ea to man who he has created to be his servant in Eridu. Again, Genesis is refuting and denying the Mesopotamian presentation of how man OBTAINED KNOWLEDGE INTENDED TO BE RESTRICTED TO THE GODS.

Please note I understand the Hebrews have introduced major modifications, employing reversals/inversions and fusing of characters, with new names and different locations and rearranged sequences of events in their _recasting_ of the Mesopotamian Adapa and the Southwind myth.

I am in agreement with Gordon Wenham and W. G. Lambert that Genesis is a polemic _challenging, refuting and denying_ the Mesopotamain notions as to why man was created and his demise being sought in a flood by putting "new twists" to old ideas or motifs.

I understand with other scholars that Genesis 1-3 is combining motifs from several different Mesopotamian myths, thus the reason (below) I have added commentary on some of these motifs which do NOT appear in the Southwind myth.

Christian Apologists, understandably, _deny any borrowing of religious concepts_ by the Hebrews from the peoples about them. The Bible is presented by the Apologists as a direct revelation from God to man. Accordingly "any" parallels were in earlier ages explained away as corrupted pagan notions of Holy Writ under the influence of Satan and his Demons (nowadays many Apologists tend to skip the "Satanic corruption" argument and just cite "differences").

The Bible _must always_ be free of pagan "borrowings" for the Apologists. Apologists devote a great deal of time noting the "differences" between the pagan concepts and the Bible, claiming these differences are "proof" there is no borrowing.

Apologists deny the differences in the Bible are because the Hebrews are deliberately challenging pagan beliefs and _recasting them_ with different details, locations, and sequences of events. Please click here for an interesting Christian analysis (1981) of the parallels bewteen Adam and Adapa by a Conservative 7th-Day Adventist scholar, Professor Niels-Erik Andreasen, who notes the "differences."

Professor Ziolkowski (Professor Emeritus, Princeton University) understands that Adam is a recast of Adapa and Enkidu:

"...biblical scholars have long been aware that the Genesis account is based on cosmological legends and mythological elements known to various peoples of the ancient Near East—in particular the image of a garden of the gods containing trees with mysterious powers. The anthropomorphic conception of a god strolling in his garden, as alien to the Hebrew tradition as is the walking and talking serpent, probably also came from another source. Notably, most of the characteristic motifs of the Genesis account are to be found, albeit in wholly different configurations, in the Mesopotamian epic of Gilgamesh."(p.13. "Near Eastern Sources." Theodore Ziolkowski. The Sin of Knowledge. Princeton University Press. 2000)

"...the harlot tells him, in words anticipating the biblical serpent's, "Thou art wise, Enkidu, art become like a god!" Clothing him with half of her garment, she leads him to Uruk..."(p.14. Ziolkowski)

"...the epic contains virtually all the elements of the biblical account of the Creation, Temptation, and Fall..."(p.15. Ziolkowski)

"Like Adam, Enkidu is created by a deity from the clay of the earth and spends his early days in naked innocence among the beasts of the field. Then, succumbing to a woman's temptation, he loses his innocence and acquires godlike knowledge. The motifs of a plant of life and the serpent that tricks Adam and Eve out of immortality occur after Enkidu's death in connection with Gilgamesh, who obtains the plant but is prevented from eating of it. Several of these common Mesopotamian elements occur also in the later (fourteenth-century B.C.E.) Akkadian tale of Adapa, who is created by the culture-god Ea as "the model of men," and to whom is given wisdom but not eternal life."(p.16. Ziolkowski)

Eden as Eridu (Where Adapa lived):

Genesis presents God's Garden in Eden as a "magical" place for at this location there exists a tree whose fruit if eaten will make man WISE possessing KNOWLEDGE:

Eve, representing mankind, understands the tree will make her WISE, possessing WISDOM:

Genesis 3:6 RSV

"So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired TO MAKE ONE WISE, she took of its fruit and ate..."

The serpent advising Eve she will possess KNOWLEDGE if she eats of the forbidden fruit:

Genesis 3:5 RSV

"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, KNOWING good and evil."

Several scholars have suggested Adapa is a prototype of Adam. What is "missed" is that Adapa dwells _on the earth_ at Eridu (in ancient Sumer, modern Iraq). The god of wisdom and knowledge Enki/Ea dwells at Eridu in a watery abyss called in Sumerian the ab-zu (Semitic: ap-su). Professor Contenau (1954) translates ab-zu to mean the "dwelling of knowledge" and I note that Adam and Eve's dwelling is in a garden in Eden and at thier "dwelling" can be obtained wisdom and knowledge. Mesopotamian myths understand man in the beginning was without wisdom and knowledge. He is portrayed at first as being an ignorant naked animal who dwelt with the beasts of edin/eden (Sumer's uncultivated land), then the God Enki/Ea of Eridu changes all this and bestows knowledge on mankind enabling him to serve the gods, to provide them with food from their city gardens in the edin. Several scholars have rightly noted that Eridu appears to be the Mesopotamian equivalent of the Garden of Eden (Sayce, Leick) and I agree (however I understand other locations have been fused to Eridu for Eden's garden).

Contenau on the ab-zu as the "source" of wisdom and knowledge where dwells Enki/Ea the god of Wisdom and Knowledge, who created man of the clay from the ab-zu, and placed him in his city-garden to care for it releasing the Igigi gods from their grievous toil in maintaing the irrigation canals that provide water for the crops:

"...Ea (Enki in Sumerian). He was the lord of ...the abyss of waters upon which the terrestial world floated...Ea's very name, with its meaning of 'house of water', is itself descriptive of his realm. The Babylonians believed that wisdom and knowledge resided in this abyss, which they knew by the name of apsu, which is simply the Semitic form of the Sumerian ab-zu, meaning 'dwelling of knowledge;. Ea's wife was Damkina...certain theological traditions make him a creator of mankind...which he formed... of clay...he ruled the domain which was the seat of knowledge..."(p. 248. Georges Contenau. Everyday Life in Babylon and Assyria. New York. St. Martin's Press, Inc. 1954)

Eden as the Edin (Where Enkidu encounters Shamhat):

Several scholars have noted that Enkidu and Shamhat appear to have been transformed and recast as ADam and Eve and I agree. What is "missed" by these scholars is that the watering hole in the wilderness where they meet is sometimes rendered as edin! The Epic of Gilgamesh is written in Akkadian, but generally unknown to many is that Akkadian scribes were found of substituting Akkadian words with Sumerian logograms as a shorthand way of writing an Akkadian word. The logogram edin is a single sign, replacing the Akkadain word seri (seru) which means an uncultivated semi-arid plain. The Akkadian composer of the Epic of Gilgamesh, then at times writes seri/seru and at other times writes edin. When professionally trained modern Assyriologists see the Sumerian logogram edin they "read it" as seri/seru (plain). It is my understanding that the "edin" where Enkidu met Shamhat, became Eden in the book of Genesis. I am in agreement with scholars that events associated with Adapa of Eridu and with Enkidu and Shamhat in the edin have been fused together and recast as a Garden of/in Eden in Genesis. By the way, the Hunter (called Sadu) who brought Shamhat to the edin's watering hole to ensnare Enkidu has become Yahweh-Elohim presenting Eve to Adam in Eden.

Yahweh as Akkadian Ea (Sumerian Enki):

(1) ADAM IS A MODEL OF MANKIND and Yahweh's servant; ADAPA IS A MODEL OF MANKIND and Ea's servant.

(2) ADAM LIVES ON THE EARTH in his God's garden and his purpose is till and care for the garden on God's behalf; ADAPA LIVES ON THE EARTH at Eridu. In other myths we learn that Ea has planted a garden for himself near his temple/shrine in which the Igigi junior gods toil. To prevent their revolt over onerous working conditions, Ea makes "man" of clay to serve -forevermore or for all eternity- in his city-garden as his agricultural servant.

(3) Adam is _DENIED KNOWLEDGE_ by God and serves Yahweh in a state of NAKEDNESS; In Sumerian myths man is DENIED THE KNOWLEDGE it is wrong to be naked by the clothed gods who formed him. Naked man is a beast, who at first wanders edin-the-plain (also rendered steppe and desert) with naked animals for companions; he is shown naked in art forms serving beverages to seated fully-clothed gods, who have denied him the knowledge it is wrong to be naked in their presence. Ea DENIES Adapa the KNOWLEDGE, that the bread and water to be offered him will give him immortality.

(4) God WARNS Adam he WILL DIE if he eats of the forbidden fruit. Ea WARNS Adapa he WILL DIE if he eats of bread and water offered by Anu.

(5) Adapa REFUSED to eat the "bread and water of life" conferring immortality BECAUSE HE OBEYED Ea. Adam is not allowed by God to eat of the Tree of life preventing the attainment of immortality BECAUSE HE DISOBEYED GOD. Neither Adapa or Adam consume the food that would have given them immortality because of a god's intervention.

(10) Yahweh warns one man, Noah, of the Flood, he is to build an ark, and save self, family, animals; Ea (Enki) warns Ziusudra dwelling at Shuruppak in Sumer of the Flood being sent by Ellil (Enlil) and to save himself by building a boat of reeds by tearing down the walls of his reed hut, he is to board this reed-boat along with family and animals.

(11) At the Flood's demise Yahweh blesses Noah and swears never to send another Flood; Ellil/Enlil after the Flood's demise is prevailed upon by Ea/Enki to never send another Flood, then Ellil/Enlil blesses the Mesopotamian Noah. I understand that Yahweh who sent the Flood and warned Noah is a recast of Ellil/Enlil who instigated the Flood and Ea/Enki who warned Ziusudra of the Flood. That is to say the Sumerian brother-gods Enlil (Akkadian Ellil) and Enki (Akkadian Ea) have been fused together into Yahweh-Elohim.

Yahweh as Akkadian Anu (Sumerian An):

(1) Yahweh at first does NOT FORBID Adam from ACCESSING THE TREE OF LIFE and becoming immortal; Anu does NOT SEEK TO DENY IMMORTALITY to Adapa, allowing him to consume the "bread and water of life."

(2) Yahweh ASKS Adam "HAVE YOU EATEN OF THE TREE?"(Ge 3:11); Anu ASKS Adapa "WHY DID YOU _NOT_ EAT?" (the offered "bread and water of life").

(3) Yahweh is UPSET that man has DEFIED him; Anu is UPSET Adapa has REFUSED his offer of bread and drink.

(4) Yahweh is UPSET that Adam has OBTAINED FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE; ANU is UPSET Adapa HAS ACQUIRED FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE from Ea.

(5) Yahweh exclaims of Adam: "Behold the man HAS BECOME _LIKE_ONE _OF_US_, KNOWING GOOD AND EVIL" (Ge 3:22); Anu exclaims of Adapa: "What was Ea about to GIVE KNOWLEDGE...TO MAKE HIM _LIKE_ ONE _OF_US_, and with such a name for WISDOM? But now that he is here what else can we do? Fetch the bread of life and he shall eat it. When they brought him the bread of life he would not eat. When they brought him the water of life he did not drink it." (p. 171. "Adapa: The Man." N. K. Sandars. Poems of Heaven and Hell From Ancient Mesopotamia. London. Penguin Books. 1971. paperback). Professor Kramer renders this verse as revealing the contempt the gods have for man (Adapa), he being called a "worthless human":

"Anu asks why Ea should have disclosed the "plan of heaven and earth" to Adapa. Adapa is, afterall, nothing but an amiluta la banita, a "worthless human..."(p. 116. "The Great Magician." Samuel Noah Kramer & John Maier. Myths of Enki, the Crafty God. New York & Oxford. Oxford University Press. 1989)

(6) Yahweh after stating of Adam "Behold, the man has become LIKE ONE OF _US_, knowing good and evil" (Ge 3:22) thereupon decides to DENY Adam access to the Tree of Life and thereby deny mankind immortality. This appears to be a reversal or inversion or "travesty" of Anu's decision that because Adapa is now LIKE US, possessing forbidden knowledge given him by Ea (Enki), thus "WE" (Anu, Ningishzida and Dumuzi) SHOULD BESTOW IMMORTALITY upon the man by ALLOWING him to consume the bread and water of life:

"As for _US_, what shall WE do about him? Bread
of life
THEY brought him, he did not eat; when the water of
life
THEY brought him, he did not drink."

(7) Because Adam acquired forbidden knowledge, immortality was DENIED him by God whereas because Adapa acquired forbidden knowledge from Ea, Anu OFFERS immortality to him (Genesis seems to be a "parody" of the Adapa myth, immortality is WITHELD instead of GRANTED because of man's possession of forbidden knowledge). This change of events in my view is "A NEW TWIST" to an earlier concept or motif.

(8) Yahweh is the creator of man. In Mesopotamian myths several gods and goddesses share the honor of having been responsible for man's creation such as Sumerian An (Akkadian Anu), Enki (Ea), Enlil (Ellil). To the degree that Yahweh has created man and expelled him, Anu also "plays the part" of Yahweh, in that by having Ningishzida and Dumuzi return Adapa to his earth he is thereby denied any further opportunities to eat the "bread of life" and drink the "water of life" which would give him immortality, just as Adam is denied access to the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden.

(9) The Sumerian god An (Akkadian/Babylonian Anu) in the below verse is credited with creating man and tasking the Sumerian god Enki of Eridu (Akkadian/Babylonian Ea) with denying man the sacred me, the knowledge of heaven and earth:

"Lord...who establishes understanding...who knows everything! Enki, of broad wisdom...Your father, An the king, the lord who caused human seed to come forth and who placed all mankind on the earth, has laid upon you the guarding of the divine powers of heaven and earth and has elevated you to be their prince. An... has instructed you...to make orchards and gardens ripe with syrup and vines grow as tall as forests."

(A tigi to Enki for Ur-Ninurta, Ur-Ninurta B: c.2.5.6.2)

A prayer that Enki's house of wisdom (his Abzu or Apzu shrine, modern Tell Abu Shahrein) at Eridu might be opened that the king may partake of some of the wisdom stored there:

"May Ur-Ninurta, the king, in whom Enlil trusts, open up your house of wisdom in which you have gathered knowledge in plenty..."

(A tigi to Enki for Ur-Ninurta. Ur-Ninurta B, c.2.5.62)

We see then from texts that An/Anu and Enki/Ea are asociated with mankind's creation, denying him knowledge (Anu being upset Adapa has knowledge of how to break the south wind's wing), and denying him immortality (Ea lying to Adapa, falsely leading him to believe the "bread of life" offered by Anu is the "bread of death"). We also see that Enki/Ea is famed for his shrine at Eridu being a house of wisdom, a storeplace of knowledge desired by mankind, personified here as the king Ur-Ninurta. Eridu where a man obtained forbidden knowledge and was denied immortality has been recast by the Hebrews into Yahweh-Elohim's garden in Eden, a place where godly forbidden knowledge was kept and acquired by man. Abraham who lived at Ur of the Chaldees lived only 12 miles away from Eridu (Eridu is SW of Ur), the Mesopotamian equivalent of the Bible's Garden of Eden. A shine to Enki has been found at Ur.

Tsumura citing Sjoberg notes that there is no mention in any Sumerian or Akkadian text of a 'Tree of Life':

"However, according to Sjoberg, who recently reexamined Sumerian connections with regard to the "tree of life," there is "no evidence" for such a tree in Mesopotamian myth and cult. He says, "The identification of different trees on Mesopotamian seals as a Tree of Life is a pure hypothesis, a product of pan-Babylonianism...There is no Sumerian or Akkadian expression 'Tree of Life'."(p. 39. footnote 70. David Toshio Tsumura. "Genesis and Ancient Near Eastern Stories of Creation and Flood: An Introduction." pp. 27-57. in Richard S. Hess & David Toshio Tsumura. Editors. "I Studied Inscriptions from before the Flood" Ancient Near Eastern, Literary, and Linguistic Approaches to Genesis 1-11. Winona Lake, Indiana. Eisenbrauns. 1994, citing A. W. Sjoberg, "Eve and the Chameleon," pp. 219-221, In the Shelter of Elyon: Essays on Ancient Palestinian Life and Literature (Journal for the study of the Old Testament) in Honor of G. W. Ahlstrom. Sheffield: JSOT Press. 1984.

Lambert has noted that for the Mesopotamian cosmographers, their efforts were not so much the creation of new gods and new concepts from whole cloth, but rather the taking of older concepts and adding a "new Twist." This is my understanding in regards to Yahweh-Elohim, he is the result of "new twists" derived from a "re-working and transformation" of older concepts by the Hebrews, who followed in the footsteps of their Mesopotamian counterparts.

The Serpent as Akkadian Ea (Sumerian Enki):

(1) The Serpent has the ability to walk and talk with mankind; Ea in his earlier role as Enki is represented in human form and thus has the ability to talk and walk with mankind, he also has a Sumerian epithet, ushumgal, which means "great serpent/dragon" (a mythological beast which walked upon four feet).

(2) The Serpent is famed for its SUBTLETY (cunning, shrewdness) with words ENTRAPPING Eve and thereby Adam; Enki is famed for his SUBTLETY with words, ENTRAPPING naive mankind with words having a double-meaning.

(3) The Serpent is associated as possessing a SHREWD CUNNING FORM OF WISDOM AND _BEING WISE_ (Matthew 10:16); Enki is the GOD OF WISDOM and FAMED FOR HIS CUNNING AND TRICKERY played on gods and man.

(4) The Serpent is portrayed as man's enemy; Enki's word in hymns is likened to being a VIPER'S VENOM for those he seeks to undo or con.

(5) The Serpent is associated with TREES; Enki the ushumgal or "great serpent/dragon" is famed for planting a city-garden of fruit-trees at Eridu in Sumer in edin-the-plain near his shrine.

(6) TWO UNIQUE TREES are in Yahweh's garden unlike other trees, a Tree of Knowledge and a Tree of Life and the Serpent apparently has "intimate knowledge" of these tree's properties; Enki the ushumgal or "great serpent/dragon" is famed for creating and planting TWO UNIQUE TREES IN HIS CITY-GARDEN at Eridu, one is called a Mes-tree the other is called a Kiskannu-tree (Solomon's temple had scenes of palm trees with Cherubim suggesting for some scholars a date palm may have been envisioned as the Tree of Life; Enki's unique Kiskannu-tree is thought by some scholars to be a date palm).

The late (1897-1990) Professor Kramer on Enki's fruit tree garden at Eridu, note that Enki (Ea) is described as a WALKING, TALKING, GREAT USHUMGAL "_SEPENT/DRAGON_," WHO IS _CUNNING AND WISE_ AND ASSOCIATED WITH PLANTING A GARDEN OF FRUIT-TREES AT ERIDU WHERE LIVES ADAPA. Eden's serpent could walk and talk and was associated with a garden full of fruit trees planted on the earth by _a_ god (Yahweh) and the serpent (the New Testament's "serpent/dragon") famed for his "cunning" and "wisdom" (cf. Matthew 10:16 "...be ye therefore WISE AS A SERPENT..."). Perhaps the mes-tree planted by the CUNNING and WISE GREAT USHUMGAL has been transformed by the Hebrews into the "Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil?"

"Lord who walks nobly on heaven and earth, self-reliant,
father Enki, engendered by a bull,
begotten by a wild bull...king, who turned out the mes-tree in the Abzu,
raised it up over all the lands,GREAT USHUMGAL,
who planted it in Eridu-
its shade spreading over heaven and earth-
A GROVE OF FRUIT TREES stretching over the land...Enki...lord of wisdom...you have given the people a place to live...you have looked after them...
Enki, king of the Abzu, celebrates his own magnificance
as is right...I AM CUNNING AND WISE IN THE LANDS...
I am lord, I am the one whose word endures.
I am eternal..."

(pp. 39-41. "Enki and Inanna: The Organization of the Earth and Its Cultural Processes." Samuel Noah Kramer and John Maier. Myths of Enki, the Crafty God. New York & Oxford. Oxford University Press. 1989)

Note: Another hymn speaks of the mes-tree as being "the flesh of the gods." Perhaps what is meant is that at times statues of the gods were carved from its wood? If so, then to the degree that gods were understood to be "immortal" the mes-tree would be associated with "immortality?" That is to say the mes-tree might be what is behind Eden's "Tree of Life" which confers immortality on human flesh? The above hymn's mention of a "grove of fruit trees" planted by Enki the Ushumgal at Eridu, may be the source of Genesis' notion that Adam and Eve have access to fruits from trees planted by God in his garden before their creation.

The late (1914-2007) Professor Bottero's translation of the above same verse suggests Enki is a "great-dragon" (Sumerian: ushumgal) that STANDS in the Eridu fruit-tree garden at Eridu and Eden's serpent possessed feet, making it capable of standing (emphasis mine):

"The Sublime lord of heaven and earth...
Father Enki, whom a bull has begotten...
O king, who planted the mes-tree in the Absu...
THE GREAT DRAGON, WHO STANDS IN ERIDU,
whose shadow covers heaven and earth,An orchard full of fruit trees stretched over the Land,
Enki, lord of prosperity, (lord) of the Anunna gods..."

The Serpent as Akkadian Anu (Sumerian An):

(1) The Serpent URGES Eve TO EAT the fruit forbidden by God; ANU URGES ADAPA TO CONSUME THE BREAD AND WATER forbidden him by Ea.

(2) The Serpent TELLS EVE SHE WILL NOT DIE if she eats; Anu tells Adapa THAT HE WILL NOT LIVE (have immortality) because he has failed to eat the proferred bread and water of life. That is to say, Anu's presentation of the bread and water of life was to PREVENT MAN FROM DYING, thus somewhat like the Serpent, Anu's actions denied or falsified Ea's warning of death if the bread and water were consumed.

(3) Yahweh THWARTS THE SERPENT (who told Eve she and Adam will NOT DIE), Adam and Eve WILL DIE; Anu's attempt to secure immortality for Adapa is THWARTED BY Ea (Enki), Adapa WILL DIE like all other men.

The Serpent as Gishzida (Nin-gish-zida):

(1) The Serpent advised Eve she would be like a God and she WOULD NOT DIE if she consumed the forbidden fruit; Ningishzida is in favor of Adapa obtaining immortality putting in a good word for him before Anu. Anu probably had Ningishzida (and Dumuzi) present the bread and water of life to Adapa on his behalf.

(2) The Serpent can talk with man and walk; Ningishzida in human form can talk and walk, he is also shown as a serpent/dragon with two wings, horns and four feet. In his human form serpent/dragon heads erupt from his shoulders. He is shown on a cylinder seal presenting Gudaea of Lagash to a god (Enki or Anu, as both possessed the 'water of life'? or perhaps Ningirsu?) to secure for Gudaea life-giving freshwater.

(3) The Edenic Serpent presented himself as man's FRIEND, NOT ENEMY, suggesting God was _LYING_ to Adam and Eve; Ningishzida was FRIENDLY to Adapa and apparently offered him -on Anu's behalf- the "bread and water of life" to secure man's immortality, making him like a god. Ea however in warning Adapa NOT to eat, was in effect portraying Anu, Ningishzida and Dumuzi as MAN"S ENEMY, SEEKING HIS DEMISE with the "bread and water of death." Ea (as Enki the ushumgal "serpent/dragon") did succeed in his _LIE_, Adapa believed him and refused to consume the bread and water of life.

The Serpent as Dumuzi/Dumuzid (Tammuz):

(1) The Serpent is portrayed as dwelling on the earth in a location called Eden, in a god's garden; Dumuzi is called the "son of Ea (Enki)" and Dumuzi abzu/apsu "Dumuzi of the abyss", the abzu is a mythical freshwater spring at Eridu where dwells Ea/Enki. This abzu opening is the source of all the freshwater which fills all the world's rivers, including the Tigris and Euphrates. Eridu lies in Sumer, in edin-the-plain (note various scholars translate Sumerian edin as plain, steppe, desert; Iraq's great plain which lies between the Tigris and Euphrates is mostly arid and "desert-like," and Genesis suggests the garden is in an _arid_ location called Eden, whose principal source of water is a river). Dumuzi is called mulu-edin "lord of edin" his wife Inanna (Ishtar) is called nin-edin "lady of edin". Both Dumuzi and Inanna bear epithets associating them with serpents: Both are called ama-ushum-gal-an-na meaning the "mother is a great serpent dragon of heaven." I understand Dumuzi the serpent/dragon or ushumgal who dwells at Eridu in edin as Dumuzi absu (Adapa dwelt at Eridu too as Enki's priest, baker and fisherman) became one of the _prototypes_ of the serpent of Eden tempting Adam in Eden.

(2) Dumuzi as Anu's heavenly gate guard sought Adapa's welfare with Ningishzida, and on Anu's behalf probably offered Adapa immortality with the presentation of the "bread and water of life". Adapa refused to consume this heeding his god Ea's advice. Ea in effect had portrayed Dumuzi the ushumgal or "serpent dragon" as man's enemy seeking his demise with the "bread and water of death".

(3) In Genesis the Serpent "looses its legs" at God's doing; Dumuzi who resides as a shepherd in edin asks the sun-god (Sumerian Utu, Akkadian Shamash) to _take away his hands and feet_ and transform him into a serpent so that he might flee the bonds of his captors the ugalla demons (shown as erect serpents on a cylinder seal) who seek to carry him off to the underworld accomplishing his death. The sun-god honors his request and Dumuzi in serpent form slithers out of his bonds and temporarily escapes. Perhaps this motif was "reworked" as God causing a serpent to loose its feet?

(4) Dumuzi's wife the Sumerian goddess Inanna "the lady of heaven" bears the title Inanna-edin-na "Inanna of edin", and nin-edin-na "lady of edin." In myths she is also called ama-ushumgal-an-na "the mother is a great serpent-dragon of heaven." A Sumerian myth relates how she once descended to the earth with her brother the sun-god (Sumerian Utu) to EAT OF CEDAR _TREES_ (consuming apparently pine nuts), to ACQUIRE SEXUAL KNOWLEDGE to fulfil her wifely duties. To the degree that Eve is Adam's "wife" in Eden and she eats of a tree's fruit to acquire knowledge, perhaps Inanna "the lady of edin" has been _recast_ as Eve? Eve's "involvement" with a SERPENT may recall her as "Inanna of edin" bearing the epithet ama-ushumgal-an-na "the mother is a great serpent-dragon of heaven"? Of interest here is that some Christian art work portrays the serpent as a woman with the lower half of her body being a serpent.

The Cherubim as Gishzida and Dumuzi:

Yahweh has the Cherubim drive man out of the garden in Eden and has them guard its entrance to deny re-entry to man (Ge 3:24). Ningishzida and Tammuz serve as gate guards for Anu's heavenly abode. They intercept all visitors and present them to Anu, they also, on Anu's orders, escort visitors back the earth, in our case, Adapa. Adapa's refusal to accept their generous offer of immortality suggests for me that they would not welcome again his entry into Anu's heavenly abode, they would probably deny him re-entry. I thus understand the Hebrews have reworked Adapa's "escorted return" from Anu's abode by Ningishzida and Dumuzi as the Cherubim "driving out" Adam and Eve and denying man's entry. That is to say, Anu was probably not willing to let Adapa have a "second chance" at consuming the "bread and water of life."

The "Bread of Death" and the "Bread of Life" _recast_ as "Fruit of Death" and "Fruit of Life" in Genesis:

Adapa was warned on the earth in Eridu by his god Ea (Enki) NOT to eat "the bread of death" or drink "the water of death" or he would surely die. In Anu's heaven he is presented "Bread of Life" and "Water of Life" which will give him immortality. I understand that the Hebrews employing "a new twist" have transformed the Bread of Death into a Fruit of Death which if eaten will cause Adam to die, said fruit being from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Bread of Life offered by Anu has been recast by the Hebrews as a Fruit conferring immortality if consumed. In other myths, we learn that Ea (Enki) who is called an ushumgal "great serpent/dragon" has created a garden full of fruit-trees for himself near his shrine. He is, in another myth, responsible for creating man of the clay over the apsu in Eridu to replace the toiling Igigi gods who complain they have no rest from agricultural toil in his city garden. I thus understand that Ea's FRUIT_TREE_GARDEN was known by Terah and Abraham who lived at Ur of the Chaldees (Tel al Muqayyar or Mugheir near Eridu) and fruits from these trees REPLACED "Bread of Death" and "Bread of Life" in the Hebrew _recasting_ of motifs from the Adapa and the Southwind myth.

Adam as Adapa:

(1) I understand Adam is an amalgam of several characters from different Mesopotamian myths. He is Adapa of the Southwind myth who lost out on a chance to obtain immortality and Enkidu of the Epic of Gilgamesh, the naked hairy wildman who wanders the steppe with animals for companions and who is seduced by a temple harlot from Uruk (biblical Erech) and loses his innocence, is clothed, declared to be like a god, leaves his animal companions for a woman's companionship and comes to dwell in cities; Adam is also derived in part from Atrahasis (the Mesopotamian Noah) who dwells in an idyllic paradise called Dilmun with his wife, possessing immortality and never having to engage in agricultural toil, they are like gods; Another Adamic prototype is Enki who dwells in Dilmun and is cursed with death for eating his wife's plants without her permission; and the "first man" created by Enki (Ea) to work in the city garden at Nippur belonging to the god Enlil.

(2) Adam is presented as at first being morally pure, without sin, without blame. I understand this motif is a recast of Adapa who is presented as being without blame and obedient to his god's commands. Adam's "Fall" into sin from a state of blamlessness is a reversal of Adapa's situation (a "new twist"), Adapa, unlike Adam did _not_ eat the forbidden food and because of this refusal he lost out on a chance to obtain immortality for himself and mankind.

Adapa is portrayed as being without blame, he has clean hands, his god finds no fault in him, yet he denies him immortality:

"To him he had given wisdom; eternal life he had not given him. In those days, in those years, the sage from Eridu… Ea created him as the model of men…The capable, the most wise…The blameless, the clean of hands…The observer of rites…"(p. 76. "Adapa." James B. Pritchard. Editor. The Ancient Near East: An Anthology of Texts and Pictures. Vol. 1. Princeton, New Jersey. Princeton University Press. 1958. Paperback edition)

"Blameless, clean of hands, anointed, the observer of divine commands…"(p. 261. line 9. "The Legend of Adapa and the Fall of Man." George Aaron Barton. Archaeology and the Bible. Philadelphia. American Sunday-school Union. 1916)

Adapa, like Adam, does take "a fall," but not from moral blamelessness into sinfulness, he looses out on immortality because, being naïve, trusting, and blameless, he obeyed his unrighteous lying god's warning or "divine command" and resisted temptation and did not eat the forbidden food which would have given him immortality. Had he been a sinner and disobeyed his god's command he would have attained immortality for himself and mankind. The Hebrews have inverted or reversed the Mesopotamian explanation for why man doesn't have immortality.

He was swindled by his god Ea, or conned. If there is any "sinning" here, it isn't by Adapa, it's by his god Ea, who has lied to him about the properties of the forbidden food; I note here that one of the hallmarks of a sinner in the New Testament is that they are liars:

Timothy 1:10 RSV

"...the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinner, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for man slayers, immoral persons, sodomites, kidnappers, liars, perjurers..."

In other myths Ea (Enki) fulfills Timothy's description of a sinner: As Enki he slays his ancestor Abzu at Eridu; he slays a fellow-god, Weila at Nippur; he perjures himself before Enlil claiming he did not break his oath not to reveal to man a flood was to happen; he is an oath-breaker in trying to take back from Inanna the "me" he has given her swearing they are hers by his holy oath; at Dilmun he has incest with his daughter, grand-daughter, and great-grand-daughter, impregnating each to give birth to the other in sequence. He was also at times a drunkard. In other words the "sinner" in the Adapa and the South Wind myth was not a man (Adapa) it was his god, Ea (Enki).

(3) Adam's so-called "FALL" is understood to have brought suffering and death to mankind; Adapa is blamed in the Southwind myth as responsible for the disease, suffering and death afflicting mankind for his failing to eat the bread and water of life offered him by Anu, he in error, thinking it was "bread and water of death." Ultimately, the real blame for man's misfortunes are laid at the door of a trickster sinner god, Ea, who lied to Adapa.

Genesis acknowledge that this world is filled with bloodshed and violence committed by both man and beast and attributes this state of affairs to "The Fall": both animal and man shed each other's blood, neither eats "only" plants as originally intended by God (Ge 1:29-30). The Mesopotamian myths also acknowledge that the world is filled with bloodshed and violence by man and beast but the reason given is different. The world was full of violence and murderous bloodshed before man was created. The world was made of Tiamat's slain body, she being slain by Marduk of Babylon. She sought to slay the gods her children for their rebelling against her and slaying her husband Abzu at Eridu. To the degree that man and beast is ultimately formed of Tiamat's body (as clay) they share in her murderous temperament, a willingness to slay her own children, the gods.

So the Mesopotamians did not understand that a man (Adapa) "fell into sin" causing beasts and man to corrupt God's way and become violent towards each other filling the world with bloodshed and violence. Man is not to blame for the world's violence, the gods are to blame, man is an innocent victim of circumstances beyond his control: he is violent because the gods he was modeled after are themselves violent.

(4) In the New Testament Christ is presented as a "new Adam" and his suffering and sacrifice will once again make possible man's second chance at attaining immortality thus ending suffering, disease and death; For the Mesopotamians Adapa's "FALL" meant disease, suffering, and death is man's lot for all eternity.

Black and Green on Adapa being "the wise man" of Eridu:

"According to Babylonian legend, Adapa was the ancient 'wise man' or 'sage' (apkallu) of Eridu, the reputed earliest city of Sumer...His wisdom and position had been granted him by the god Ea (Enki)."(Jeremy Black & Anthony Green. Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia, An Illustrated Dictionary. Austin, Texas. University of Texas Press [Published in co-operation with the British Museum Press, London]. 1992. ISBN 0-292-70794-0)

Bottero understood Ea (Enki) bore the epithet Atra-khasis, as well as the Mesopotamian Noah variously called Ziusudra, Utnapishtim and Atra-Khasis (Atrahasis):

"Atra-khasis (The Supersage). This epithet, belonging to Enki/Ea,was also used to indicate his devotee, who was saved from the Flood by Enki/Ea in order to preserve the human race...The poem [Atra-khasis] is of considerable importance, especially for the study of the creation of mankind."(p. 290. "Glossary-Index." Jean Bottero. Mesopotamia: Writing, Reasoning, and the Gods. Chicago. University of Chicago Press. 1992. [Published 1982 as Mesopotamie, L'ecriture, la raison et les dieux. Editions Gallimard. Paris)

Clay (1923) on the meaning of Atra-khasis:

"Attempts have been made to show that Atra-khasis was composed of two words, and meant "most holy," "religious," "just and perfect man," "very intelligent," "open-minded," "very wise," etc. There are no etymological grounds for any of these guesses, for in Assyrian the word atru means "abundant, surplus, excess," etc., and the verb khasasu means "to think, to remember, to reflect, to be mindful of." Atra-khasis, although used in these legends as an epithet, is a personal name.

There are two passages in the epics where the name is used as an epithet, apparently for a "wise man." Adapa, in the legend bearing his name, is called "the mighty one, the Atra-khasis of the Anunnaki." In the Etana legend, the wise young eagle is called "the young admu, the Atar-khasis." In both passages the name stands in apposition, and is not written grammatically as two words. There can be little doubt that the name was looked upon in these epics as synonymous with the idea of "clever one"; as if we would call a man "a Noah"; but it was, nevertheless, understood as a personal name. Moreover, the conclusive proof that it is a personal name is to be found in the fact that the determinative for man was placed before it in the early version of the deluge story. The name obviously means, "the god Atar is mindful (of the child)."(pp. 167-168. "The Deluge Story." Albert T. Clay. The Origin Of Biblical Traditions Hebrew Legends In Babylonia And Israel Lectures On Biblical Archaeology. New Haven. Yale University Press. 1923)

My thoughts: If Clay is correct that atru means "abundant, surplus, excess" and khasasu means "to think, to reflect, to be mindful of," could perhaps this epithet be describing the fact that Adapa was "EXCEEDINGLY MINDFUL" of Ea's instructions to him to NOT consume the "bread and water of death" to be offered him by Anu? Thus because he was "exceedingly-mindful" he and mankind lost out on a chance to obtain immortality? Adam in Genesis was NOT "exceedingly-mindful" of Yahweh's warning NOT to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Heidel (1951) on Adapa's "strict obedience" (which i would equate with "abundant mindfulness"):

Perhaps the Mesopotamian "Noah," Ziusudra or Utnapishtim was called Atra-khasis because he was "exceedingly-mindful" of Ea's instructions (like Adapa): to build a boat and to save self, family and the seed of all animals, thus assuring a replenishment of the earth upon the Flood's demise?

Professor Bottero on the meaning of Adapa:

"Adapa. An epithet of unknown origin that meant "the Wise one." This epithet was used for the first of the apkallu whose name was U'anna."(p. 287. "Glossary-Index." Jean Bottero. Mesopotamia: Writing, Reasoning, and the Gods. Chicago. University of Chicago Press. 1992. [Published 1982 as Mesopotamie, L'ecriture, la raison et les dieux. Editions Gallimard. Paris)

Please click here for my article identfying Eridu, where Adapa served Ea (Enki) as one of several prototypes of Genesis' Garden of Eden. As noted by Leick the Mesopotamians envisioned THE FIRST NAMED EARTHLY LOCATION TO BE THE CITY OF ERIDU LOCATED IN EDIN-THE-PLAIN OF SUMER a city created by Ea/Enki, WHEREAS GENESIS' FIRST NAMED EARTHLY LOCATION IS A GARDEN _IN_ EDEN. However, NOT noted by Leick is the fact that the gods' gardens were ALWAYS associated with the city in which they dwelt. Ea (Enki) dwelt at Eridu, he created a fruit-tree garden there near his shrine, he made man of clay from the apsu to replace the junior Igigi gods who toiled in the Eridu garden who threatened rebellion if not relieved of their onerous work. Ea made man to replace the Igigi, man would toil in Ea's Eridu fruit-tree garden for all eternity. Below, an excerpt from that article:

"Leick (emphasis mine):

"ERIDU IS THE MESOPOTAMIAN EDEN, THE PLACE OF CREATION...Amid a primeval sea, THE FIRST CITY, ERIDU...Just like the marsh dwellers of southern Iraq, who still build their huts on floating islands of reed, the god [Marduk] spreads mud upon a reed frame to fashion a platform. From this primordial, rather flimsy basis, the cities and their temples take their beginning. Henceforth the gods take up residence on the earth and live in cities. And because the gods have the dwelling of 'their heart's delight' in cities, Mesopotamian cities are always sacred.

THUS THE MESOPOTAMIAN EDEN IS NOT A GARDEN BUT A CITY, formed from a piece of dry land surrounded by the waters. The first building is a temple. THEN MANKIND IS CREATED TO RENDER SERVICE TO GOD and temple. This is how Mesopotamian tradition presented the evolution and function of cities, and Eridu provides the mythical paradigm. Contrary to the biblical Eden, from which man was banished for ever after the Fall, Eridu remained a real place, imbued with sacredness but always accessible."(pp. 1-2. "Eridu." Gwendolyn Leick. Mesopotamia, The Invention of the City. London. Penguin Books. 2001. Paperback)

Graves and Patai have identified some of the motifs associated with the Garden of Eden as reworked Mesopotamian myths, the so-called Adapa and the Southwind Myth. I however, disagree with them regarding Anu "knowing" of Ea's warning to Adapa. I understand that Anu was willing to bestow immortality on Adapa and Ea anticipating this, lied to Adapa telling him he would be offered bread and water of death and thus not to consume them. I do agree with Graves and Patai, that this myth does provide the motif of the Serpent's warning Eve that she has been lied to by God, that she will die if she eats the forbidden fruit.

Graves and Patai:

"Another source of the Genesis Fall of Man is the Akkadian myth of Adapa, found on a tablet at Tell Amarna, Pharaoh Akhenaten's capital. Adapa, son of Ea, the Babylonian god of wisdom, was attacked in the Persian Gulf by a Storm-bird while catching fish for his father's priests, and broke its wing. The bird proved to have been the South Wind. Ea summoned Adapa to explain his violence and warned him that, having displeased Anu, King of Heaven; the gods would offer him the food and drink of death, which he must refuse. Anu, however, learning of this indiscreet disclosure, foiled Ea by offering Adapa the bread of life and water of life and, when he refused them at his father's orders, grimly sending him back to the earth as a perverse mortal. This myth supplies the theme of the Serpent's warning to Eve: that God deceived her about the properties of the forbidden fruit."(p. 79. "The Fall of Man." Robert Graves & Raphael Patai. Hebrew Myths, the Book of Genesis. New York. Greenwich House. Distributed by Crown Publishers, Inc. 1963, 1964, reprint of 1983)

Christianity teaches that all is "not well" between Man and God. Man since Adam has "fallen from grace," he was EXPELLED from the Garden of Eden by God and the Cherubim. Christianity teaches that Christ was born and died on the cross in order to "restore" man to God's good graces, and holds out the promise man will once more be allowed "back" into the Garden of Eden, to eat of the Tree of Life and know God's fellowship (Revelation 22:1-2, 14). These teachings were not a part of Mesopotamian belief. They saw nothing "wrong with the world" that needed a "restoration" of man's relationship vis-a-vis the gods.

Mesopotamian myths understand that the gods (Enlil of Nippur and Enki of Eridu) created man to work in their earthly city gardens to relieve the junior gods called the Igigi of onerous working conditions which they protested and rebelled against. Later, Enlil (Ellil), enraged that he can get no rest by day or sleep by night because of the noise of man, decides to send a flood to destroy all mankind. Ea (Enki), defying Enlil, warns one man, Ziusudra of Shuruppak, of the coming flood and to build a boat to save self, family and animals, he does so. The flood lasts 7 days and nights in one account, another has six days and nights yet another six days and seven nights. After the flood HUNGRY gods gather "like flies" to consume the sacrifice of Ziusudra in their honor, for during the course of the Flood they have had no meals fed them by man.

The gods had learned an important lesson. It was foolish to send another flood to destroy all mankind. Who would take care of the gods' earthly city gardens if man was exterminated ? The gods would have to return to the earth to hoe their own gardens ! Who would feed the hungry gods in the temples if man was no more ? The gods would have to feed themselves !

Genesis portrays an outraged God EXPELLING man from his earthly garden. This concept was UNKNOWN to the Mesopotamians. They understood man had been created to work the gods' gardens FOREVERMORE, relieving the junior gods, the Igigi, of agricultural toil. Genesis is then DENYING OR REFUTING Mesopotamian understandings of HOW and WHY man was created. Yahweh does NOT NEED MAN to take care of his earthly garden, Yahweh does NOT NEED MAN TO FEED HIM the produce from his earthly garden.

The Mesopotamians understood man's sinfulness was because the gods made him that way.

According to one Mesopotamian myth man is created by the god Enki to replace the junior Igigi gods who toil in the garden of a god at Nippur. The Igigi revolt because they have been given NO REST from agricultural toil. To stop the revolt, Enlil, the god of Nippur, summons his brother-god Enki from Eridu asking what can be done to appease the

Igigi? Enki suggests the making of man to replace the Igigi. Enlil gives his assent. Man is made from clay mixed with the FLESH AND BLOOD of Aw-ilu the leader of the Igigi revolt. It is this god's life-force (flesh and blood) which gives life to man. Man's "rebelliousness against god" is accounted for in Mesopotamian myths as man possessing the "rebellious spirit" of the slain rebel leader of Igigi revolt against Enlil (Note: In myths it is Enlil who is the "principal instigator" who decides to send a flood to destroy mankind for violating his rest). Man's sinfulness and rebellious is NOT traced to a man willfully disobediant of his god in eating of a forbidden tree fruit to acquire knowledge and become like a god. Man's DECEITFULNESS or LYING was another GODLY QUALITY passed on to man, the god Enki is famed for his decitfulness, cunning, knavery and trickery on fellow gods as well as man (Note: In myths its is Enki who warns one man of the Flood to be sent to destroy man, telling him to build a boat and save self, family and animals).

Foster noted that the Mesopotamians understood man's "lies and falsehood" were implanted in man at his creation by the gods Enlil and Ea and the birth goddess Mami:

"Enlil, king of the gods, who created teeming mankind,
Majestic Ea, who pinched off their clay,
The queen who fashioned them, mistress Mami,
Gave twisted words to the human race,
They endowed them in perpetuity with lies and falsehood."

Christianity's notion that all is NOT WELL because man has been expelled from the Garden of Eden and has lost Gods' "favor" is then a REFUTATION OF MESOPOTAMIAN UNDERSTANDINGS of the relationship between the gods and man.

THE GODS NEVER INTENDED TO EXPEL MAN FROM THEIR EARTHLY GARDENS, FOR THEN THE GODS WOULD HAVE TO HOE THEIR GARDENS THEMSELVES, something they dreaded, hence the reason they made man in the first place, to replace themselves as an agricultural servant.

Genesis' portrayal of Yahweh-Elohim EXPELLING man from his earthly garden is then a Hebrew REFUTATION or DENIAL of the beliefs held by the Mesopotamians regarding the relationship between man and his god.

To the degree that I understand that Ea (Enki) is one of several prototypes behind Yahweh-Elohim in the Garden of Eden, and that Ea bears the epithet of Ushumgal he is also one of several prototypes behind Eden's serpent, I guess one could argue that the later Christian identification of Eden's serpent with Satan (Revelation 20:2), is identifying Ea (Enki) as being both God and Satan. That is to say God _is_ Satan and Satan _is_ God in that both "descend" from Ea (Enki) who created a god's garden full of fruit trees for himself in Eridu and created man of its clay to work in it forevermore, and who warned Adapa NOT TO CONSUME the "bread and water of death" proferred by Anu, Ningishzida and Dumumzi or he would surely die.

Who would have "known" that Ea (Enki) bore the Sumerian epithet Ushumgal? It would have to be someone _very familiar_ with Mesopotamian literature, for the epithet never appears in the Adapa and Southwind myth for ANY of the characters. I suspect that either Terah or Abraham while living in Ur of the Chaldees, decided to worship one god and this god was "their adaptation and transformation" of the gods appearing the local myths. Ur (Tel al Muqayyar or Mugheir south of Babylon) does possess an extensive cuneiform literature which preserves events at Eridu. Ur's kings restored Eridu from time to time as noted by Leick.

Please click here for a picture of Ea/Enki (please scroll down to the bottom of the page for the pictures).

No identifiable image of An (Anu) exists. However, to the degree that cylinder seals generally show all the gods with the similar dress and helmets or crowns with bull's horns please click here for how Anu probably looked.

Please click here for pictures of Adapa as a "fish-man" (in the Adapa myth one of his duties was that of a fisherman who caught and presented fish for Ea's consumption in his shrine at Eridu. I understand that later ages transformed Adapa "the fisherman" who's boat was overturned tossing Adapa into the sea (thus his cursing the southwind breaking its wing) into a "fishman" who came forth from the depths of the sea bringing wisdom, "the arts of civilization," to mankind).

Please click here for pictures of Adam as Enkidu in the Epic of Gilgamesh and Eve as Shamhat the harlot who civilized the naked man of edin-the-steppe, she being cursed and blamed for bringing about his ultimate death for trangressions against the gods (I understand Eden's motifs are from several Mesopotamian myths not exclusively the Adapa and The Southwind myth).

Please click here for my article on the 3000 year evolution of Yahweh-Elohim (4000-1000 BCE).

Please click here for my article on the Pre-biblical Origins of the Hebrew Shabbat or Sabbath via transformations and new twists of motifs appearing in the Epics of Gilgamesh and Atra-khasis (Atra-hasis) and associated with the 2900 BCE Shuruppak Flood (Which I understand is what lies behind Noah's Flood).

Langdon (1931) understood that the Adapa myth was a "parallel" to the biblical myth about Adam and the introduction of death for all of mankind:

"An Assyrian fragment contains a few lines from the end of the poem...Anu placed some penalty upon him corresponding to that imposed upon Adam by Yaw in Genesis 3:17-19...Anu provides some alleviation for the sorrow and pain which would henceforth be the lot of man. Upon Adapa he conferred sacerdotal privileges for ever. The fragment closes with these lines:

"In the days when Adapa, the offspring of man,
With his...cruelly broke the wings of the south wind,
And ascended to heaven, so verily
Did this come to pass, and whatsoever he brought about evilly for men,
And disease which he brought about in the bodies of men,
This will the goddess Ninkarak allay.
May the sickness depart, the disease turn aside.
Upon that man may his crime fall
And... may he rest not in sweet sleep."

From these lines it is obvious that the entire myth was composed as an incantation to heal the sick. The author means to say that the disease which the magician endeavours to heal was not caused by the sins of the patient, but by Adapa, whose fatal act brought death and pain into the world in an age when sorrow was unknown in Paradise. But the gods provided for man a divine physician, the goddess Gula or Ninkarrak."(pp.181-182. Stephen Herbert Langdon. The Mythology of All Races (Volume V): Semitic. Vol. 5. Archaeological Institute of America. Marshall Jones Company. Boston & Oxford. 1931)

If Langdon's translation is correct, it appears to me that Adapa is being blamed for the death-causing diseases afflicting mankind. The magician's incantation appears, to me, to be saying in effect, may the disease leave the diseased and return to Adapa and afflict him instead (and may Adapa's repose in the underworld not be a peaceful one). In other words, the descendant's are being punished for the sins of their forefathers.

Ea the Ushumgal, "the great serpent/dragon" is famed as a "god of wisdom" and in the New Testament serpents are associated with wisdom:

Matthew 10:16 RSV

"Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so BE WISE AS SERPENTS and innocent as doves."

Kramer on Ea as a god of wisdom:

"The portrait of Enki that emerges from the extant Sumerian texts is rather enigmatic, paradoxical, and contradictory. In the hymns and in the hymnal passages scattered throughout the myths, for example, Enki is exalted and glorified AS THE ALL-WISE, ALL-KNOWING leader of the gods, A WISE COUNSELOR, a valuable friend, and a generous benefactor of humankind...Eloquent of speech, he pronounces the name of everything created."(p. 2. Samuel Noah Kramer and John Maier. Myths of Enki, the Crafty God. New York and Oxford. Oxford University Press. 1989)

Kramer, however, astutely notes that the Mesopotamian gods have their "failings" and are at times portrayed in less than flattering roles, in this case it is Enki (Ea):

"In the myths, on the other hand, these impressive powers, renouned qualities and masterful accomplishments are by no means uniformly apparent. The mythographers, in fact, often paint Enki as a rather foolish fellow, sex-driven, self-indulgent, torpid, and heedless of the suffering of his fellow gods, prone to prepare carousing banquets without realizing the dangers and risks to which he exposes himself...Even his role as human benefactor is put in doubt to some extent by his depriving humankind of the me of life; by his terrifying humans with his awesome, venomous word; and by his putting an end to universal human speech and thus afflicting humankind with a babel of tongues -all because he was jealous of his older brother Enlil."(p.2. "Introduction." Samuel Noah Kramer and John Maier. Myths of Enki, the Crafty God. New York & Oxford. Oxford University Press.1989)

"Enki is reguarly given the epithet "LORD OF WISDOM"...we have chosen to avoid "wisdom" when the Enki stories seem to demand shrewdness and cunning, the arts of the trickster. Enki astonishes even the other gods with shocking solutions to apparently impossible problems...Perhaps "crafty" is the better term to use for the problem-solving Enki...In particular, Enki is the father who imparts knowledge to his son. Enki was, perhaps more than any other ancient deity, essentially identified with the spoken and the written word."(p. 5. "Introduction."Samuel Noah Kramer and John Maier. Myths of Enki, the Crafty God. New York & Oxford. Oxford University Press. 1989)

Kramer concluded that Enki (Ea) to some degree lies behind the Bible's presentation of Yahweh, but in a very disguised manner. I concur. I am not however, aware of Kramer identifying Enki (Ea) with Genesis' serpent.

The Late Professor Kramer (Curator Emeritus of the Cuneiform Tablet Collection at the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania and Clark Research Professor Emeritus) using "politically correct" uncontentious and neutral scholarly language, alludes to En-ki's "survival" in today's gods, Yahweh, Christ and Allah:

"Ideas do not necessarily die when the civilization that nurtured them expires. Eridu declined, and Sumerian, like Latin in the West many centuries later, was maintained only by an educated, literate elite. The great empires of Akkad, Assyria, and even Babylon were brought down- Assyria in the late seventh century BC, Babylon less than a century later. Persians, Macedonians, Seleucids, Arsacids, Sassanians, Ummayyad and Abbasid caliphs and later dynasties excercised lordship in Mesopotamia, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam were deeply rooted in the Near East, and as often as not challenged their predeccessors. Enki survived, if at all, in new guises, under different names...If Enki and his city-state had all but disappeared, literary traditions and religious syncretism kept something of them alive. The two traditions that formed the basis of Western civilization, Greek and Biblical, appear to know stories of Enki, in much disguised form. For various reasons, orthodox and official streams of those traditions ignored or denounced outside influences. Because- with rare exception- Sumerian names do not appear, much of the tracing that follows here is necessarily speculative. In one sense we are very much the inheritors of civilization in its early, Sumerian, forms; but in another sense we will always have a difficult time recognizing such early debts."(p.154. "Traces of the Fugitive God." Samuel Noah Kramer and John Maier. Myths of Enki, the Crafty God. New York and Oxford. Oxford University Press. 1989)

The Mesopotamian myths noted that before man's creation the junior gods called the Igigi toiled in the earthly gardens of the senior gods called the Anunnaki. Enlil of Nippur and Enki of Eridu are identified as being Anunnaki gods and Nippur and Eridu are identified as lying in a desert-like steppe or plain called in Sumerian edin.

The Nippur myth regarding how man came to be made stressed that for 40 years, night and day, the Igigi toiled in Enlil's garden, making mountains of the dredged earth or sediments continually clogging up the irrigation canals providing water for the crops. The Igigi constantly clamored about their grievous toil but to no avail, the Anunnaki gods ignored them. Only when the Igigi revolt, burning their tools and surrounding the house of Enlil do they get attention. Enki is summoned from Eridu and with Enlil's assent it agreed that the Igigi's complaints of years of onerous toil and their clamor was deliberately ignored. To "right" the situation, man will be created to replace the Igigi. Man will toil in _a_ god's (Enlil's) city-garden at Nippur. The Igigi are ecstatic! They have been "removed" from _a_ god's garden and "replaced" by man. Now the Igigi will be free from agricultural toil like the Anunnaki gods (Anu, Enlil and Enki).

The Mespotamian myths explained that the Flood which destroyed all mankind had been brought about because man's "noise or clamor" was disturbing the god's rest by day and sleep by night, year after year without let-up. These myths also noted that in the beginning the 7 great Anunna Gods of Heaven had imposed back-breaking labor making and clearing irrigation ditches, by day and by night, without rest, on the Igigi gods confined to the earth. These gods are described as muttering, complaining and constantly creating "a clamor," which at first is ignored by the Anunna gods. The threatened rebellion by the Igigi gods is forstalled by making man from the ringleader of the Igigi, slaughtering him and mixing his flesh and blood with the clay. The myths at this point stress that with the making of man, not only do the Igigi gods get to enter into "the rest from toil," enjoyed by the Anunna gods, but that "their clamor," their noisey complaining about hardwork is transferred to man. In otherwords, man's "noise" is because he is overworked and not allowed to have "rest" from his god-imposed toil. (cf. pp. 52-62, "The Story of the Flood," [The Atrahasis version], Benjamin R. Foster, From Distant Days, Myths Tales and Poetry of Ancient Mesopotamia. Bethesda, Maryland, CDL Press, 1995, ISBN 1-883053-09-9, paperback)

Foster:

"When the gods were man, they did forced labor, they bore drudgery. Great indeed was the drudgery of the gods, the forced labor was heavy, the misery too much: The seven (?) great Anunna-gods were burdening the Igigi gods with forced labor...[The gods] were digging watercourses, canals they opened, the life of the land...They heaped all the mountains. [ years] of drudgery, [ ] the vast marsh. They counted years of drudgery, [ and] forty years too much! [ ] forced labor they bore night and day. They were complaining, denouncing, muttering down in the ditch, "Let us face up to our foreman the prefect, He must take off this our heavy burden upon us!(pp. 52-53. Foster)

The Anunna gods acknowledge the burden of the Igigi and their "clamor":

"Ea made ready to speak, and said to the gods [his brethren], what calumny do we lay to their charge? Their forced labor was heavy. [their misery too much]! Every day [ ] the outcry [was loud, we could hear the clamor]. There is [ ] [Belet-ti, the mid-wife], is present. Let her create, then a human, a man, let him bear the yoke...[let man assume the drud]gery of god...She summoned the Anunna, the great gods...Mami made ready to speak, and said to the great gods, "You ordered me the task and I have completed (it)! You have slaughtered the god, along with his inspiration. I have done away with your heavy forced labor, I have imposed your drudgery on man. You bestowed (?) clamor upon mankind..."(pp. 58-59. Foster)

The Igigi gods in gratitude fall at her feet, kissing them, she having freed them from toil, and declare a new name for her "Mistress of All the gods" (Belet-kala-ili).

As can be seen from Professor Foster's above translation the Igigi gods are objecting to the making of watercourses and canals, NOWHERE does the text say they are working in the Anunnaki gods' city-gardens! So, why am I claiming the Igigi worked in the Anunnaki gods' gardens?

I am stepping back and looking at the "big picture!" We have two sets of gods dwelling in cities they have made for themseleves on the earth, the senior gods called the Anunnaki or Anunna and the junior gods called the Igigi. The Anunnaki are making the Igigi do the work. What is the purpose of canals and watercourses in Mesopotamia? It's not to water the grass lawns near the temples. The cities of Lower Mesopotamia are habitable only if a food-supply is available for the occupants.

The watercourses, canals and irrigation ditches MAKE POSSIBLE THE CITY-GARDENS OF THE GODS. Thus I INFER that when the Anunnaki sit down to a meal, they as the senior gods are not out in the hot sun planting the crops, nor are they hoeing out the weeds, nor are they harvesting the crops, nor are they preparing the crops for the table. The Anunnaki are eating the garden-produce, and someone has to make all this "happen."

According to the myths Man has not yet been created, so that leaves the Igigi gods as bearing these burdens. That is to say it is my understanding that they not only are digging-out watercourses and canals, but irrigation ditches, and planting, hoeing and harvesting the crops to feed the Anunnaki.

When it is at last decided to REPLACE THE IGIGI WITH MAN, it is man who will now dig watercourses, canals, irrigation ditches and plant the crops, hoe them of weeds and harvest them and present them as food in the temples and shrines to the Anunnaki and the Igigi. Hence the reason I understand that the Igigi were burdened with toil in the gods' gardens. The gods' gardens cannot exist without water from man-made watercourses, canals and irrigation ditches.

Now the gods complain that man's "clamor" disturbs them, resulting in a decision to send a Flood to destroy man and obtain peace and quiet and their longed-for "rest."

:

"Twelve hundred years had not gone by, the land had grown wide, the peoples had increased, the land bellowed like a bull. The god was disturbed with their uproar, Enlil heard their clamor, he said to the great gods, The clamor of mankind has become burdensome to me..."(p. 62. Foster)

The gods try various ways to reduce mankind's clamor by decimating mankind's numbers, and in the end they resolve upon a Flood to destroy them all. However, one god stands apart as man's friend, he is Enki (Ea). An enraged Enlil (Ellil) accuses Enki of thwarting the agreed-upon plan of the gods, that man should toil ceasely, he accuses him of lightening man's burden, allowing him to enjoy the fruits of his labor, the fruits to be harvested for the god's food, and providing shade for him as he toils in the hot sun:

"All we great Anunna-gods resolved together on a rule. Anu and Adad watched over the upper regions, I watched over the lower earth. You went, you released the yoke, you made restoration. You let loose produce for the people. You put shade in the glare (?) of the sun."(pp. 69-70. Foster)

Enlil, not trusting Enki, tries to get him to swear an oath not to betray the god's plan to destroy man with a flood. Enki agrees, but slyly lets Atrahasis (Utnapsihtim) know by addressing "the wall" of the house he lives in, thus not directly revealing the flood decision to a man, "face to face."(p. 71, Foster)

"Ut-napishtim spoke to him, to Gilgamesh...let me tell you the secret of the gods. Shuruppak is a city that you yourself know,situated [on the bank of] the Euphrates. The city was already old when the gods within it decided that the great gods should make a flood. There was Anu their father, warrior Ellil their counselor...farsighted Ea swore the oath (of secrecy) with them, so he repeated their speech to a reed hut, "Reed hut, reed hut, brick wall, brick wall, listen reed hut and pay attention brick wall: (This is the message:) Man of Shuruppak, son of Ubara-Tutu, dismantle your house, build a boat. Leave possessions, search out living things. Reject Chattels and save lives! Put aboard the seed of all living things, into the boat."(pp. 109-110. "Gilgamesh Tablet XI." Stephanie Dalley. Myths From Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh and Others. New York. Oxford University Press. 1989, 1991. ISBN 0-19-281789-2)

Below, is another mythical variation of how and why mankind came to be created by Enki. In this account he is sleeping through the commotion on the earth's surface, caused by the earth-dwelling junior gods called the Igigi who labor ceaselessly to provide food for the senior gods called the Anunnaki or Anunna (Enki or Ea is an Anunna god). He is awakened from his sleep in his underwater Abzu dwelling called the E-engur, by his mother who asks him to end the commotion. He creates man from clay above the Abzu transfering the burden of agricultural toil from the earth-dwelling gods to mankind. In the Bible God makes man of dust and places him in Eden to tend God's garden. Enki's "sleeping" recalls to mind the Psalmist portraying Yahweh-Elohim "sleeping" while Israel's enemies destroy her (cf. Ps 44:23; 78:65)

"The Enki and Ninmah Myth:

In those days, in the days when heaven and earth were created; in those nights, in the nights when heaven and earth were created; in those years, in the years when the fates were determined; when the Anunna gods were born; when the goddesses were taken in marriage; when the goddesses were distributed in heaven and earth; when the goddesses ...... became pregnant and gave birth; when the gods were obliged (?) ...... their food ...... for their meals; the senior gods oversaw the work, while the minor gods were bearing the toil. The gods were digging the canals and piling up the silt in Harali. The gods, dredging the clay, began complaining about this life.

At that time, the one of great wisdom, the creator of all the senior gods, Enki lay on his bed, not waking up from his sleep, in the deep engur, in the flowing water, the place the inside of which no other god knows. The gods said, weeping: "He is the cause of the lamenting!" Namma (Nammu), the primeval mother who gave birth to the senior gods, took the tears of the gods to the one who lay sleeping, to the one who did not wake up from his bed, to her son: "Are you really lying there asleep, and ...... not awake? The gods, your creatures, are smashing their ....... My son, wake up from your bed! Please apply the skill deriving from your wisdom and create a substitute (?) for the gods so that they can be freed from their toil!"

At the word of his mother Namma, Enki rose up from his bed. In Hal-an-kug, his room for pondering, he slapped his thigh in annoyance. The wise and intelligent one, the prudent, ...... of skills, the fashioner of the design of everything brought to life birth-goddesses (?). Enki reached out his arm over them and turned his attention to them. And after Enki, the fashioner of designs by himself, had pondered the matter, he said to his mother Namma: "My mother, the creature you planned will really come into existence. Impose on him the work of carrying baskets. You should knead clay from the top of the Abzu; the birth-goddesses (?) will nip off the clay and you shall bring the form into existence. Let Ninmah act as your assistant; and let Ninimma, Cu-zi-ana, Ninmada, Ninbarag, Ninmug, ...... and Ninguna stand by as you give birth. My mother, after you have decreed his fate, let Ninmah impose on him [mankind] the work of carrying baskets."("Enki and Ninmah." cf. also Black, J.A., Cunningham, G., Robson, E., and Zólyomi, G., The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, Oxford. 1998.)

For the Igigi then, their REMOVAL from _a_ god's garden (Enlil at Nippur and Enki at Eridu) BECAUSE OF THEIR REBELLION was regarded as a _BLESSING_. Work in _a_ god's city-garden is a back-breaking hell!

The Christian understanding of the garden of Eden from which Adam and Eve are expelled BECAUSE THEY REBELLED AGAINST GOD is seen as a _CURSE_. Man will now "loose fellowship with God" with his REMOVAL from God's garden. Man's work in the garden of Eden is NOT portrayed as a back-breaking hell dredging day and night the irrigation ditches. God LOVES man whereas the Anunnaki gods, Enlil and Enki who are portrayed making man to work in their earthly garden were RUTHLESSLY EXPLOITING their garden-laborers, the Igigi, ignoring their pleas for a release from servitude and a need for some rest from their labors.

That is to say Christianity's notion that MAN'S EXPULSION FOR REBELLION AGAINST THE GOD owning the garden of Eden as being a CURSE, is in the earlier Mesopotamian myths a BLESSING! The Igigi _LIKE_ Adam and Eve REBELLED against _A_ GOD IN HIS GARDEN (Enlil of Nippur and Enki of Eridu). LIKE Adam and Eve, because of their rebellion they are REMOVED from _a_ god's garden. However, UNLIKE Adam and Eve the Igigi's REMOVAL is a _BLESSING_NOT_A_CURSE, for now the Igigi ATTAIN FELLOWSHIP with the Anunnaki, they will now lay about in indolent leisure free of agricultural toil LIKE THE ANUNNAKI, for man will now serve both the Igigi and the Anunnaki gods. MAN'S FATE IN THE MESOPOTAMIAN MYTHS IS TO TOIL FOREVER IN THE GODS' CITY-GARDENS OF EDIN.

Christianity's understanding of Adam and Eve's expulsion being a curse appears to be an inversion or reversal of the 'original" Mesopotamian myths regarding how man came to be made and placed in a god's garden and how rebellion in a god's garden resulted in a removal from that garden for all eternity of it's "gardeners."

Some Chistians and Jews understand that Satan and his Demons rebelled against God because they had been demoted by mankind's creation and were thus _VINDICTIVELY_JEALOUS_OF_MAN. Man would rank above them. This might be a recasting of the Mesopotamian myths regarding the lesser gods, the Igigi who are REPLACED by the senior gods the Anuuna or Anunnaki with mankind. The Igigi had REBELLED against the Anunnaki. They objected to the grievous toil on the earth, making and clearing canals and irrigation ditches for the senior gods' city gardens at Nippur and Eridu. Man was created TO REPLACE the REBELLING Igigi. Man would make canals, irrigation ditches, maintain the gods' city gardens, plant the crops, hoe them of weeds, harvest and prepare them for the table to present to both the Anunnaki and Iggi gods. But, the Igigi were NOT angry over being "REPLACED" BY MAN'S CREATION, _THEY_WELCOMED_ MAN"S_CREATION, for man would bear their toil. So an inversion has taken place. YES there was indeed a REBELLION of lesser gods against the senior gods, but this was a JUSTIFIED REBELLION. The toil was excessive and unwarranted. YES man did REPLACE junior gods, but NOT because man would be closer to a God's affection and honor, but to ruthlessly exploit him as had earlier been done to the Igigi. So, it is my understanding that the notion that Satan and his demons are REBELS to God's authority and jealously seek man's harm because man has been ranked above them in God's affection and honor is nothing more than a later INVERSION or RECASTING of ancient Mesopotamian motifs regarding the relationship between the creation of man and his replacement of the lesser gods, the Igigi, by the senior gods, the Anunnaki.

Campbell (1964) on Judaism's rejection of "Man's Fall" as understood by Christianity:

"In the usual Christian view, all mankind has inherited from the revolt of the first couple a corruption of nature that has so darkened understanding, weakened the will, and inclined to evil, that without the miracle of God's merciful assumption to himself of the guilt and punishment due to that sin, the human race would have remained forever divorced from its proper end in knowledge, love, service, and beatitude of its Creator...In the view, on the other hand, of the continuing synagogue, the Christian doctrine of original sin is rejected. As we read in the words of the late Chief Rabbi of the British Empire, J. H. Hertz:

"Man was mortal from the first, and death did not enter the world through the transgression of Eve...There is no loss of the God-likeness of man, nor of man's ability to do right in the eyes of God; and no such loss has been transmitted to his latest descendants."

Campbell on the Quran (Koran) and the "Fall of Adam" caused by a jealous demoted Satan who refuses to bow down to man:

"We are reading the Holy Koran. The text continues with a version of the biblical creation myth and Fall.

"Behold the Lord said to the angels" "I will create a vice-regent on earth"...We said to the angels: "Bow down to Adam!" They bowed. Not so, however, Iblis [Satan], who refused. He was haughty. He was of those who reject the faith. We said: "O Adam, dwell -both you and your wife- in the Garden. Eat of the bounty therein as you will, but approach not to this tree, lest you approach darkness and transgression." Satan then made them slip from it and caused their banishment from the place in which they were."(p. 420. "The Cross and the Crescent." Joseph Campbell. The Masks of God: Occidental Mythology. New York. Arkana. Viking Penguin Books. 1964, reprint 1991)

Please note Campbell's 'penetrating observation' that the Mesopotamian myths have been transformed to render an _argument contrary to the older faiths_ by the Hebrews in the Book of Genesis:

"No one familiar with the mythologies of the primitive, ancient, and Oriental worlds can turn to the Bible without recognizing counterparts on every page, transformed, however, to render an argument contrary to the older faiths. In Eve's scene at the tree, for example, nothing is said to indicate that the serpent who appeared and spoke to her was a deity in his own right, who had been revered in the Levant for at least seven thousand years before the composition of the Book of Genesis. There is in the Louvre a carved green steatite vase, inscribed c. 2025 BC by King Gudaea of Lagash, dedicated to a late Sumerian manifestation of this consort of the goddess, under his title Ningizzida, "Lord of the Tree of Truth."(p. 9. "The Serpent's Bride." Joseph Campbell. The Masks of God: Occidental Mythology. Arkana. New York. Viking Penguin Books. 1964, 1991 reprint)

Why in Mesopotamian myths is that man is denied immortality? In the Adapa and the Southwind[The Tablet Of Adapa
Adapa - The First Man, translated by Stephanie Dalley and Adapa and the Food of Life by R.W. Rogers, 1912] myth Ea (Enki) of Eridu in Sumer is portrayed conning his human servant Adapa into not consuming the "bread of life and water of life" that will be offered him by Anu in heaven which will make him and consequently all mankind immortal, telling him it is the "bread and water of death" and he will surely die if any is consumed.

Why did Ea (Enki) do this (deny man immortality)?

Ea/Enki was portrayed in myths as the god of wisdom. He appears to have been thought of as wiser and craftier than the other gods, Anu (his father) and Enlil (his brother). Ea/Enki is portrayed making man of clay to work in the city gardens at Eridu and Nippur. Ea lives at Eridu, Enlil lives at Nippur. At both locations the lesser gods, the Igigi, are in a state of rebellion seeking an end to their back-breaking toil in the city gardens. Perhaps Ea was of the mind that if man was allowed to be immortal and become like a god they would be "back to square one again"? That is to say, Ea foresaw man eventually rebelling against the toil in the city gardens like the Igigi. Who would replace man if he was granted an escape from toil in the city gardens? That is to say, the Mesopotamian notion was that the GODS DO NOT TOIL IN THEIR CITY GARDENS, MAN DOES. If man is allowed to become immortal like the gods, then he is in effect A GOD. Then the whole Mesopotamian belief system comes crashing down: THAT IMMORTAL GODS DO NOT TOIL IN THEIR CITY GARDENS, ONLY MORTALS MADE IN THEIR IMAGE DO. I am proposing here that man CANNOT be made into a god and given immortality because this would be "against the grain" of Mesopotamian belief regarding the ordering of the universe in the great cosmic scheme of things: "That Immortals do not toil upon the earth, only mortals do." Also, this cosmic plan of the gods answers the question of why man does not have immortality. Foolishly, Anu was willing to bestow immortality on Adapa and mankind, Ea intervenes and wisely foils Anu's offer, man is tricked into not consuming of the bread of life and water of life. Man does not possess immortality because _a_ god (Ea/Enki) did not will it to be so. Genesis refutes this explanation of why man is not immortal; Mankind's God did NOT trick him out of a chance to obtain immortality, man's decision to disobey God was why he does not have immortality (God is absolved, the blame is shifted to man). Adapa is portrayed as blameless and faithful to his God, OBEYING HIM, and thus losing out at a chance to obtain immortality. The Mesopotamian version of why man lost out on a chance to obtain immortality is NOT because he (Adapa) was a sinner and rebel, but because his LYING, DECEITFUL god (Ea/Enki) did not want him to possess immortality. That is to say the Hebrews have REVERSED/INVERTED the Mesopotamian account by 180 degrees, blaming a man (Adam) instead of his Creator (Yahweh).

Walton (a devout evangelical scholar) summarizes some observations by Andreasen who is a devout Seventh Day Adventist scholar on Adapa and Adam as prototypes of man:

"On the scene staged by the Mesopotamian artists he characterized man as the noble, wise, reliable, and devoted, but humble hero who is resigned to live responsibly before his god. However, in the biblical tradition, the characterization came through in quite a different way, which has put its lasting mark upon the concept of man in the Judeo-Christian tradition- namely, that before God, man is (or rather has become) basically sinful, failing, ignoble and untrustworthy, bent upon usurping the place of his God."(pp. 193-194. Niels-Erik Andreasen. "Adam and Adapa: Two Anthropological Characters." Andrews University Seminar Studies. Vol. 19 (1981). pp. 184-185. p. 64. "Cases of Alleged Borrowing." John H. Walton. Ancient Israelite Literature in its Cultural Context: A Survey of Parallels Between Biblical and Near Eastern Texts. Grand Rapids, Michigan. Zondervan Publishing House. 1989. 1990 Revised Edition)

Walton summarizes Andreasen:

"The Adapa epic is typically Mesopotamian in its attempt to demonstrate that the status quo was foreordained and cannot be changed. Immortality is not available even to the wisest of the ancient sages. This is in direct contrast to the typically Israelite outlook found in Genesis in which the status quo is the result of man's failure that cost him the immortality he once possessed. In Mesopotamian thinking things are as they ought to be and cannot be changed. In Israelite thinking, things are not as they ought to be, and hope exists that one day reversion may take place."(p. 64. "Cases of Alleged Borrowing." John H. Walton. Ancient Israelite Literature in its Cultural Context: A Survey of Parallels Between Biblical and Near Eastern Texts. Grand Rapids, Michigan. Zondervan Publishing House. 1989. 1990 Revised Edition)

Walton cites Heidel's dismissing Adapa as a prototype of Adam:

"Furthermore, it is equally clear that Adapa failed to obtain the priceless boon of immortality not because of any sin or disobedience on his part but because of his strict obedience to the will of Ea, his father, the god of wisdom and the friend of man. And, finally, there is not the slightest trace of any temptation, or any indication whatever that this legend is in any way concerned with the problem of the origin of moral evil."(p. 124. Alexander Heidel. The Babylonian Genesis: The Story of Creation. Chicago. University of Chicago Press. 1951. p. 64 "Cases of Alleged Borrowing." John H. Walton. Ancient Israelite Literature in its Cultural Context: A Survey of Parallels Between Biblical and Near Eastern Texts. Grand Rapids, Michigan. Zondervan Publishing House. 1989. 1990 Revised Edition)

Heidel (1942) on Adapa's "Fall" being a misnomer as he lost out on a chance to obtain immortality not through disobedience (sin) but because he was obedient to his god (Ea) who tricked him with a lie:

"Like the biblical account of the fall of man, the Adapa story wrestles with the questions: "Why must man suffer and die? Why does he not live forever?" But, unlike the biblical account, the answer it gives is not: "Because man has fallen from a state of moral perfection," but rather: "Because Adapa had the chance of gaining immortality for himself and mankind, but he did not take it. The gift of eternal life was held out to him, but he refused the offer and thus failed of immortality and brought woe and misery upon man." The problem of the origin of sin does not even enter into consideration. Consequently, it is a misnomer to call the Adapa Legend the Babylonian version of the fall of man. The Adapa Legend and the biblical story are fundamentally as far apart as the antipodes."(p. 124. "Old Testament Parallels." Alexander Heidel. The Babylonian Genesis: The Story of Creation. Chicago & London. The University of Chicago Press. 1942, 1951. Reprint of 1984)

"Our conclusion is that the apparent similarities between these two pieces of literature can be easily explained by the fact that they both use general motifs present throughout ancient Near Eastern literature. Immortality is a matter of interest through every period in wide-ranging genres of literature. There is no reason to assume that since it is in some way a major motif of each of these works, they must therefore be organically related to one another. The similarities are incidental and the differences are primary."(p. 65. "Cases of Alleged Borrowing." John H. Walton. Ancient Israelite Literature in its Cultural Context: A Survey of Parallels Between Biblical and Near Eastern Texts. Grand Rapids, Michigan. Zondervan Publishing House. 1989. 1990 Revised Edition)

Barton on several "modern" scholars (by 1916) suggesting Genesis' Fall motif is a recast of similar motifs appearing in the Adapa and the Southwind myth:

"In the first place, Adapa, like Adam, had gained knowledge. This knowledge carried with it a power hitherto regarded as an attribute of divinity. It enabled Adapa to break the wing of the southwind; it tempted Adam and Eve "to become like God, knowing good and evil" (Gen. 3:5). As in Genesis, knowledge did not carry with it immortality. Ea, the god who had permitted Adapa to become wise, feared that he might gain immortality, as Jehovah thought that Adam might "put forth his hand and take of the tree of life and eat and live forever" (Gen. 3:22)...Ea accordingly told Adapa a falsehood when he was about to go into the presence of the supreme god, Anu, in order to prevent him from eating the food that would make him immortal; Jehovah drove man from the garden where the tree of life grew. The two accounts agree in thought that immortality could be obtained by eating a certain kind of food. The lines at the end of the Adapa story are much broken, but they make clear that as punishment for what he had done, Adapa was subjected to sickness, disease and restlessness. This corrresponds to the toil inflicted upon woman (Gen. 3:17-19), and the pangs of childbirth imposed upon woman (Gen. 3:16). It appears also that as Adam and Eve were clothed with skins in consequence of their deed (Gen. 3:21), so Adapa was clothed by Anu in a special clothing.

These similarities indicate that the Babylonians possessed the same general ideas of the connection of increasing knowledge, with the attributes of divinity on the one hand, and with suffering and clothing on the other, which are presented in Genesis. An increasing number of modern scholars regard the Babylonian story as an earlier form of a narrative which the Hebrew writer took and purified...In the Babylonian myth, the gods, Ea and Anu, are divided and work at cross purposes; Ea tells a falsehood to accomplish his end."(pp. 260-261. George A. Barton. Archaeology and the Bible. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. American Sunday-School Union. 1916)

Conclusions:

It is my understanding that the Hebrews have reworked motifs associated with Adapa and the South Wind Myth. They are in effect challenging the Mesopotamian notion that man (Adapa) lost out on a chance to obtain immortality for himself and mankind, not because he was disobedient to his god's command "do not eat or you will die," but because he was _scrupulous obedient_ and refused the proffered food from Anu.

Ea lied to Adapa out of self-interest. He did not want to lose man as his servant. The gods created man to be their slave, to give themselves an eternal sabbath-rest from earthly toil; man will toil in the gods' place; man will provide the gods with life's necessities: food, clothing and shelter. In Mesopotamian belief gods do not toil for life's necessities this is man's burden. If man is given immortality and allowed to become a god, who then will toil in the gods' garden of edin/eden (edin being the uncultivated plain of Sumer surrounding the gods' city-gardens)? The gods will have to return to the earth and labor in the gardens of edin/eden for their own food and give up their eternal sabbath-rest from toil. So Ea denied "man" (Adapa) out of self-interest, Ea did not want to have to toil for his food (Adapa provided Ea his food in the form of fish, bread and water) in his garden in edin/eden at Eridu. Ea, was then "smarter" and "wiser" than a foolish Anu who had offered man (Adapa) immortality, for Anu had failed to realize that if man became a god he and the gods would have to toil on the earth for their food.

The Hebrews are SHIFTING BLAME for man's misfortunes from God to Man. God is righteous, Man is disobedient and a sinner.

This concept, THE SHIFT OF BLAME FROM GOD TO MAN, "permeates" the whole of the Old Testament. It is a repudiation of the Mesopotamian notion that man (Adapa) acted "nobly" and was not disobediant, he was not a sinner, he was a victim of an unrighteous, untrustworthy god (Ea) who lied to him, taking advantage of the man's naive trust, to promote his own self-interest (wanting man to remain his slave and prepare his daily food for him).

Other myths reveal that Ea of Eridu in his earlier form as the Sumerian god Enki of Eridug was an immoral god in that he was engaged in acts of incest with his daughter, grand-daughter and great-grand-daughter at Dilmun, a location in the marshes east of his residence at Eridu. Please click here for the story.

Heidel on the lack of a notion of a "fall" for man in Mesopotamian myths and that if there is a "fall," it is that the gods have fallen, it is the gods who have acted immorally (the Mesopotamian myths have man made of clay mixed with the flesh and blood of a slain rebel god, Weila at Nippur, the god's spirit is "in" man, a "rebellious" spirit):

"So far no proof for the first sin has been found anywhere in Babylonian or Assyrian literature. If it is at all permissable to speak of a fall, it was a fall of the gods not of man. It was the gods who first disturbed the peace of Apsu and Tiamat; it was Apsu and Mummu who planned the destruction of these gods; it was Ea who, as a measure of self-preservation, killed his ancestor Apsu; and it was Tiamat and her host who, in a rage of revenge, prepared to bring war and destruction upon the other gods. In Genesis man is created in the image of God; but the Babylonians created thier gods in the image of man. The gods...were guilty of human misconduct...something quite different from...chacteristics attributed to God in the Old Testament...Of the Babylonians can be said what Cicero has said with reference to the poets of Greece and Rome: "The poets have represented the gods as inflamed by anger and maddened by lust, and have displayed to our gaze their wars and battles, their fights and wounds, their hatreds, enmities and quarrels, their births and deaths, their complaints and lamentations, the utter and unbrideled license of their passions, their adulteries and imprisonments, their unions with human beings and the birth of mortal progeny from an immortal parent." How could such gods possibly be expected to create something morally perfect? Yes, it was with the blood of such gods that man was created! Since all the gods were evil by nature and since man was formed with their blood, man of course inherited their evil nature. This conclusion is in complete harmony with the following passage from the Babylonian theodicy: "Narru, king from of old, the creator of mankind; gigantic Zulummar, who pinched off their clay; and lady Mama, the queen, who fashioned them, have presented to mankind perverse speech, lies and untruth they presented to them forever." Man, consequently, was created evil and was evil from his very beginning. How then, could he fall? The idea that man fell from a state of moral perfection does not fit into the system or systems of Babylonian speculation."(pp. 125-126. "Old Testament Parallels." Alexander Heidel. The Babylonian Genesis: The Story of Creation. Chicago & London. 2nd edition. 1942, 1951. Reprint of 1984)

For Christians visiting this website (BibleOrigins.net) _my most important article_ is The Reception of God's Holy Spirit: How the Hebrew Prophets _contradict_ Christianity's Teachings. Please click here.

Disclaimer

Disclaimer:
Some material presented will contain links, quotes, ideologies, etc., the contents of which should be understood to first, in their whole, reflect the views or opinions of their editors, and second, are used in my personal research as "fair use" sources only, and not espousement one way or the other. Researching for 'truth' leads one all over the place...a piece here, a piece there. As a researcher, I hunt, gather and disassemble resources, trying to put all the pieces into a coherent and logical whole. I encourage you to do the same. And please remember, these pages are only my effort to collect all the pieces I can find and see if they properly fit into the 'reality aggregate'.

Personal Position

Personal Position:
I've come to realize that 'truth' boils down to what we 'believe' the facts we've gathered point to. We only 'know' what we've 'experienced' firsthand. Everything else - what we read, what we watch, what we hear - is what someone else's gathered facts point to and 'they' 'believe' is 'truth', so that 'truth' seems to change in direct proportion to newly gathered facts divided by applied plausibility. Though I believe there is 'truth', until someone celestial who 'knows' all the facts parts the heavens and throws us a scroll titled "Here Are ALL The Facts And Lies In The Order They Happened," I can't know for sure exactly what "the whole truth' on any given subject is, and what applies to me applies to everyone.~Gail Bird Allen

Never in your long ascendancy will you lose the power to recognize your associates of former existences. Always, as you ascend inward in the scale of life, will you retain the ability to recognize and fraternize with the fellow beings of your previous and lower levels of experience. Each new translation or resurrection will add one more group of spirit beings to your vision range without in the least depriving you of the ability to recognize your friends and fellows of former estates.

And here is mystery: The more closely man approaches God through love, the greater the reality -- actuality -- of that man. The more man withdraws from God, the more nearly he approaches nonreality -- cessation of existence. When man consecrates his will to the doing of the Father's will, when man gives God all that he has, then does God make that man more than he is.

"And do you not remember that I said to you once before that, if you had your spiritual eyes anointed, you would then see the heavens opened and behold the angels of God ascending and descending? It is by the ministry of the angels that one world may be kept in touch with other worlds, for have I not repeatedly told you that I have other sheep not of this fold?"

But we know that there dwells within the human mind a fragment of God, and that there sojourns with the human soul the Spirit of Truth; and we further know that these spirit forces conspire to enable material man to grasp the reality of spiritual values and to comprehend the philosophy of universe meanings. But even more certainly we know that these spirits of the Divine Presence are able to assist man in the spiritual appropriation of all truth contributory to the enhancement of the ever-progressing reality of personal religious experience—God-consciousness.

When you are through down here, when your course has been run in temporary form on earth, when your trial trip in the flesh is finished, when the dust that composes the mortal tabernacle "returns to the earth whence it came"; then, it is revealed, the indwelling "Spirit shall return to God who gave it." There sojourns within each moral being of this planet a fragment of God, a part and parcel of divinity. It is not yet yours by right of possession, but it is designedly intended to be one with you if you survive the mortal existence.

And the greatest of all the unfathomable mysteries of God is the phenomenon of the divine indwelling of mortal minds. The manner in which the Universal Father sojourns with the creatures of time is the most profound of all universe mysteries; the divine presence in the mind of man is the mystery of mysteries.

To every spirit being and to every mortal creature in every sphere and on every world of the universe of universes, the Universal Father reveals all of his gracious and divine self that can be discerned or comprehended by such spirit beings and by such mortal creatures. God is no respecter of persons, either spiritual or material. The divine presence which any child of the universe enjoys at any given moment is limited only by the capacity of such a creature to receive and to discern the spirit actualities of the supermaterial world.

Paradise is the eternal center of the universe of universes and the abiding place of the Universal Father, the Eternal Son, the Infinite Spirit, and their divine co-ordinates and associates. This central Isle is the most gigantic organized body of cosmic reality in all the master universe. Paradise is a material sphere as well as a spiritual abode. All of the intelligent creation of the Universal Father is domiciled on material abodes; hence must the absolute controlling center also be material, literal. And again it should be reiterated that spirit things and spiritual beings are real.

Culture presupposes quality of mind; culture cannot be enhanced unless mind is elevated. Superior intellect will seek a noble culture and find some way to attain such a goal. Inferior minds will spurn the highest culture even when presented to them ready-made.

True liberty is the associate of genuine self-respect; false liberty is the consort of self-admiration. True liberty is the fruit of self-control; false liberty, the assumption of self-assertion. Self-control leads to altruistic service; self-admiration tends towards the exploitation of others for the selfish aggrandizement of such a mistaken individual as is willing to sacrifice righteous attainment for the sake of possessing unjust power over his fellow beings.

How dare the self-willed creature encroach upon the rights of his fellows in the name of personal liberty when the Supreme Rulers of the universe stand back in merciful respect for these prerogatives of will and potentials of personality! No being, in the exercise of his supposed personal liberty, has a right to deprive any other being of those privileges of existence conferred by the Creators and duly respected by all their loyal associates, subordinates, and subjects.

There is no error greater than that species of self-deception which leads intelligent beings to crave the exercise of power over other beings for the purpose of depriving these persons of their natural liberties. The golden rule of human fairness cries out against all such fraud, unfairness, selfishness, and unrighteousness.